The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to consolidate and modify its health care operations in Northern Virginia, following a multi-year national review that assessed the quality of facilities and geographic distribution relative to Virginia’s population. Veterans.
In Northern Virginia, the Fredericksburg Health Care Center, currently under development, will consolidate primary care and outpatient mental health services from the existing Fredericksburg Community Outpatient Clinic and the Spotsylvania County Outpatient Clinic.
Moving services to the planned Fredericksburg Health Care Center will allow for the closure of the Fredericksburg Outpatient Clinic, according to the study, as the new facility is only 8.2 miles from the existing outpatient clinic. This is also based on projections that enrollees in Fredericksburg are expected to increase by more than 17.8% between 2019 and 2029.
The Spotsylvania Community Outpatient Clinic is less than two miles from the future Fredericksburg Health Care Center. It will therefore also be grouped together in the new establishment.
The VA study noted that the age of the existing Fredericksburg center makes building a new facility more affordable and a “better stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” as new construction will be less expensive than trying to modernize existing centers.
The report will be reviewed by the National VA Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission. The commission will also review the assessment and feedback from stakeholders, veterans, and community members, hold public hearings, tour VA facilities, and meet with VA employees and partners before submitting recommendations to the President. Joe Biden. If Biden approves the final recommendations, Congress will have 45 days to reject or accept the entire list of recommendations.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., said in written remarks on the VA’s in-depth analysis that the study is a preliminary but notable step in realigning health care under the VA Mission Act. of 2018 that he supported.
“For years I have insisted that Virginia veterans have access to the quality and timely health care they have earned during their years of service to our country. …I look forward to engaging with veterans and communities around Virginia to ensure that these recommendations would live up to their stated goal of effectively meeting the future health care demands of our growing veteran population. fighters here in the Commonwealth.
The report notes that the VA based its presentation to the AIR Commission on the question: what is best for the veterans we serve? The study said the recommendations will help the VA cement its role as the primary provider and world-class coordinator of veterans’ health care for generations to come.
