Bemidji-Fosston VA Clinic to Open by End of Year

(WASHINGTON, DC) - U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson announced that a Bemidji-Fosston VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic will be operational in by the end of 2006.

“Our rural veterans now have better access to the care they need because the VA is recognizing that outpatient clinics are a cost-effective, sensible way to do business,” Peterson said. “Bemidji and Fosston area veterans will see easier access to the care they need and deserve.”

Community Based Outpatient Clinics can provide primary care, primary and subspecialty care, mental health care or any combination of health care delivery services that can be provided in an outpatient setting.

The VA expects that the new clinic, based in Bemidji, will see 2500 patients each year and will have a staff of eight.

In May of 2004, the VA announced that it would open three outpatient clinics in Minnesota’s Seventh District, in Bemidji, Alexandria and Redwood Falls. The Bemidji-Fosston clinic is the first of these three to get underway. An outpatient clinic located at the Veterans Home in Fergus Falls has been operational for many years.

These clinics are part of a comprehensive plan by the Department of Veterans Affairs to modernize its nationwide system of health care facilities.

The VA says their new plan would save about $3.4 billion in 2006 to $750 million in 2022. These savings will free up federal dollars that can be spent delivering care to veterans.

“I’m grateful to the decision-makers at the VA for helping to make it easier for our veterans to receive health care services,” Peterson said.

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