Cramer: New Dickinson VA Clinic Offers More Health Care Services to Area Veterans

Statement

Congressman Kevin Cramer recognized the expanded healthcare access now available to area veterans at today's ribbon cutting for the new VA Community Based Health Care System in Dickinson.

This expansion, which doubled the size of the previous clinic, is part of the Fargo VA Health Care System. It will help accommodate the growing demand for veterans' health care in Western North Dakota, with more on-site primary care, behavioral, preventive and laboratory services, as well as telehealth and women's health exam rooms. A similar clinic has also opened in Williston.

Cramer praised the work of Lavonne Liversage, director of the Fargo Health Care System, and her team responsible for bringing greater health care services to Western North Dakota veterans. "Every time I hear complaints in Washington about VA medical facilities, I think if they would all be run like they are in North Dakota, we would have no problems," Cramer said.

Because North Dakota remains very community-oriented, Cramer said he believes veterans in the state are better cared for than in other areas of the nation. "In our culture, most North Dakotans know veterans in our families and churches and look out for them."

He said the 2019 VA Appropriations bill passed by the House in June includes a $3.9 billion increase in funding to focus more on suicide prevention outreach, opioid addiction and rural health.

Cramer was at the White House in June when President Trump signed the VA Mission Act. "This was a big step forward in further empowering the authority of the Veterans Administration to make changes," he said. "It also provided more resources for the Veteran's Choice program, which is so important to veterans in our rural areas."

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