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3rd District Congressman Adrian Smith has sent a second letter to VA Black Hills Health Care System Director Stephen DiStasio, calling for more time for review of a proposed to close the VA Health Center in Hot Springs.
Smith, Co-Chair of the House Rural Veterans Caucus, says that while he appreciates that the VA has held additional public input meetings since unveiling the proposal about 6 weeks ago, he remains concerned that the timeline for making a final decision doesn't allow to to fully study all the feedback from those meetings.
In his letter, Smith urges DiStasio to "allow more time to fully consider the implications of the proposal, review the comments from affected veterans, and assure their access to health care will not be reduced,”...and to not make a final decision until all those concerns have been addressed.
After Smith's first letter to DiStasio on December 21s, the VA held additional public meetings in Alliance and Chadron. He's also urged Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to reconsider the proposed service reductions.
The proposal would replace the Hot Springs Center with a new outreach clinic and increased contracting for health care services from hospitals and other providers in the region.
Veterans remain concerned that the proposed contracts won't provide the same level of service, and that they will have to drive an additional 160 miles round trip to receive VA services at the Fort Meade center at Sturgis that they currently receive in Hot Springs.
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