The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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June 16, 2008

Our View — New Vets clinic a welcome addition

Getting veterans the assistance and care they need is a country’s obligation to its armed forces.

So it’s positive news that today a veterans clinic is opening in Mankato. At first the Veterans Affairs clinic in the Nichols Office building will see patients only for mental health care, but services eventually will be expanded to full primary medical care.

That’s good news for area veterans and their communities. As Vietnam vets age and more vets return home from Iraq and Afghanistan, medical services need to be available where they live — not a two-hour car ride away.

Vets still will need to travel to the VA in Minneapolis for specialized care, but the goal is to have medical facilities for vets within one hour’s drive of them.

Not only is the plan more cost-effective, but it is a sign the VA recognizes it needs to step up the care of veterans. A Washington Post article in 2007 received national attention when unsafe and unsanitary conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center were described in detail. Since then, veterans groups have sued the VA alleging its mental health care and benefits system are flawed.

There have been incidents in Minnesota, and in this region, involving vets suffering from stress disorders that have resulted in erratic behavior, including standoffs with authorities. A CBS probe that examined death records in all 50 states found that veterans were twice as likely to commit suicide.

The need and demand for more clinics certainly exists. The Minneapolis VA has eight community clinics in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In 2006-2007, those clinics saw an increase of 30,000 visits, VA officials said.

Along with being able to see health professionals face to face in their own community, veterans here also will be able to use teleconference equipment, which allows users to speak with medical staff by using a video screen from their homes.

Despite recent criticisms of the VA system, it also had made great strides over the years in revamping and updating itself, and many veterans will attest to the good care they’ve received. The VA has developed a health-care system that focuses on preventive care and uses electronic medical records.

A system so massive will always need updating and outside observers to make sure it’s working as well as it can. This new clinic in Mankato is a sign the system recognizes that offering vets care close to home can be part of the healing process, and giving vets convenient care is the least the government can do.

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