Veterans living in Kentucky and Oklahoma could soon have more locations where they can receive health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough said during an Oct. 25 press conference that Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Sill and Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma will provide healthcare for veterans through an expansion of a partnership that already exists between VA and the Department of Defense.
"We have authority and existing relationships and money to go ahead and take advantage of open opportunities where we're going to do it," McDonough said. "We're going to identify targets of opportunity."
The PACT Act, which expands access to VA health care and benefits to veterans of every era exposed to toxins as a result of their military service, has added thousands of veterans to VA’s rolls even as it faces challenges with aging infrastructure. VA announced last year that it plans to build over 30 new facilities nationwide and close 17 others in an attempt to improve access to health care for the nation’s veterans.
"We are trying to use every authority we have to address what is obviously a challenging infrastructure situation," McDonough added.
No timeline for when veteran patients would start being seen at the bases in Kentucky and Oklahoma was announced. Earlier this month, VA said 37,000 veterans requiring surgery would be able to receive care at the Naval Air Station Pensacola hospital.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.