BOYD ANNOUNCES NEW VA CLINIC COMING TO JACKSON COUNTY
Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida), a member of the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, today announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to open a new community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) in Jackson County. The VA aims to open the CBOC within eight months. The new clinic will enhance access to VA healthcare for the 75,500 veterans in North Florida.
"This new clinic is an extraordinary victory for our veterans in North Florida and a long time coming," said Congressman Boyd. "Veterans in Jackson County and surrounding areas have traveled too far, for too long, to get the healthcare they need and deserve, and the new clinic will ensure that North Florida's veterans have more convenient access to proper medical care."
Since 2004, Congressman Boyd has been working with the VA to move forward with the plans for a CBOC in Jackson County. Last year, Congressman Boyd brought former VA Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, to Marianna so that he could meet with local officials and talk about plans for the CBOC in Jackson County.
"I have been working for some time now to demonstrate to the VA the immediate need for a veterans' clinic in Jackson County," Boyd stated. "Our veterans need healthcare services closer to their homes, and this new facility will do just that."
Currently, veterans in Jackson County and surrounding areas must travel to Panama City, Tallahassee, Lake City, Pensacola, or Biloxi, Mississippi, for their healthcare needs. The VA anticipates that 3,574 existing patients and 310 new patients will be treated at the CBOC in Jackson County, which was among 38 clinics approved in 22 states by VA Secretary James Nicholson.
"VA is committed to providing world-class healthcare to the men and women who have served this nation," VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said. "These new clinics will bring VA's top-notch care closer to the veterans who have earned it."
The Jackson County CBOC was included in the VA Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) decision in 2004. The CARES decision is a strategic plan that is essential to provide quality, accessible healthcare to our veterans. The CARES decision addressees the changing demographics and the aging infrastructure that plagues the VA healthcare system. Once complete, it will allow the VA to provide essential healthcare for veterans now and for those in the future.