NEW VETERANS CLINIC IN GRAND FORKS ANNOUNCED BY DELEGATION

Senator Byron           Senator Kent             Congressman Earl

DORGAN    CONRAD   POMEROY

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February 19, 2009                                                      Contacts: Brenden Timpe (Dorgan) (202) 224-2551

                                                                                                Sean Neary (Conrad) (202) 224-2043

                                                                                                Sandra Salstrom (Pomeroy) (202) 225-2611

 

DELEGATION ANNOUNCES LOCATION OF NEW VETERANS CLINIC IN GRAND FORKS

 

VA expects 5,500 visits per year at new Grand Forks clinic

 

Washington -- Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Congressman Earl Pomeroy announced Thursday that the new Department of Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Grand Forks will be located at 3221 32nd Avenue South.

 

The Fargo VA Medical Center has awarded a contract for the clinic to RCH Properties, LLC, of Grand Forks. It is expected to open for veterans enrolled with the VA in the fall of 2009. The clinic will be a staffed VA clinic, open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

 

By making health care more readily available, the delegation said, the new clinic will help fulfill the commitment that was made to veterans. The VA projects that the new clinic will handle more than 5,500 patient visits annually and lead to a 30 percent increase in the number of Grand Forks-area veterans who make use of the VA health care system.

 

"This new clinic will give a big boost to veterans who live in the Grand Forks area," the delegation said in a joint statement. "When these veterans signed up to serve our country, we made a promise that we would provide them with high-quality health care. This new clinic will help fulfill that promise."

 

Services at the new Grand Forks clinic will include comprehensive primary care, health promotion, maintenance, routine procedures and education. The clinic will also offer screening and interventions for mental health disorders, including evaluation for mental illness, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder and sexual trauma counseling.

 

While some patients needing specialty care will be referred to Fargo's VA Medical Center, telemedicine will be used to provide care on-site when possible.

 

The establishment of the Grand Forks clinic is the result of a six-year effort by Senators Dorgan and Conrad and Congressman Pomeroy to make health care more readily available to North Dakota's veterans.

 

Due in part to the delegation's efforts, the blue-ribbon CARES Commission placed a greater emphasis on meeting the needs of veterans in rural areas. Based on the commission's recommendations, the VA approved five new clinics in North Dakota to supplement the existing clinics in Bismarck, Grafton and Minot, as well as the Medical Center in Fargo. Community-based clinics in Williston, Jamestown, and Dickinson recently opened, and the clinic in Devils Lake will open soon.