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Federal officials have reversed their decision to close a mobile medical clinic for veterans in rural Maine, saying the issue needs further study.
The announcement came during a town meeting Monday night in the eastern Maine community of Bingham, at which roughly 120 people had showed up to protects last week’s decision by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to shut down a mobile clinic that serves some 400 veterans from a large part of the state.
VA officials had said the clinic, run out of a 53-foot-long trailer and serving veterans and their families in rural Somerset, Franklin and Piscataquis counties, was due to close on October 1. They had said the clinic was only a pilot project, and that its closure would save the VA $100,000 to $200,000 a year in operating costs.
Veterans protested the VA’s plans, pointing out that some would have to travel hundreds of miles – over rural roads that are dangerous to travel during the winter months – to reach the VA Healthcare System in Togus, near Augusta, or an outpatient clinic in Bangor.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Ryan Lilly, associate director of the VA Maine Healthcare System, said the clinic will remain open indefinitely while a study determines the most efficient way to provide medical care for veterans in the area. He said the decision, which was “obviously a reversal from last week,” doesn’t mean the clinic will remain open in the long run.
One of the alternatives that has been mentioned is a teleconferencing system that would connect veterans to healthcare providers via video feed.
Lilly told the Press Herald a study panel will begin work immediately and will consult with veterans and their families on healthcare opportunities.
Veterans enlisted the support of U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, Maine’s two Republican senators, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud to lobby the VA.
"We're just very, very pleased that they agreed to the request and are providing us with some good news," said Ed Gilman, a spokesman for Michaud, a ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health.
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