Vitter, Boustany, Cassidy Laud Opening of Lake Charles VA Clinic

Press Release

U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), along with U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, Jr. M.D. (R-La) and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), today issued the following statements regarding the opening of a new Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) interim clinic in Lake Charles, La.

"While I'm glad to see my years of hard work with Congressman Boustany and our colleagues in the Louisiana Congressional delegation have come to fruition with the opening of this much-needed VA clinic in Lake Charles, I will not stop fighting for our Louisiana veterans until the permanent Lake Charles clinic is up and running, as well as the interim and permanent clinics in Lafayette," said Sen. Vitter. "The veterans of southwest Louisiana have waited long enough for access to quality health care."

Dr. Boustany said, "When I called for the Secretary of the VA to come to Louisiana to view the conditions where it's treating our veterans, Deputy Secretary Gibson called the facilities "unacceptable.' Today's opening is the result of a lot of hard work and diligence from our congressional delegation in holding the VA's feet to the fire and ensuring our veterans' needs are met. I'm proud to have led this effort to provide better facilities and expanded services for our South Louisiana veterans, because they've earned it."

"Securing a lease for a permanent VA clinic and opening the interim clinic are steps in the right direction. Until the clinic opens and starts seeing patients, we must continue to ensure our veterans have access to reliable, quality care in south Louisiana. Making sure the VA fulfills its mission to serve our veterans and not bureaucrats must be one of our highest priorities," said Dr. Cassidy.

In recent years, Vitter has been working to authorize new VA clinics throughout Louisiana, along with Rep. Boustany to build interim and permanent VA clinics in southwest Louisiana. In June 2014, Vitter successfully included authorization for VA clinics, including ones in Lake Charles and Lafayette, in the veterans' health care reform bill.

In September, Vitter and Boustany announced that the VA awarded a lease contract for the community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) in Lake Charles.

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