NORFOLK – Veterans had an opportunity to give feedback and learn about new services coming to the area at a town hall meeting Thursday evening.
VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Healthcare Systems spoke about new initiatives the service is providing. One of the key items on the list was the new clinic being built in Norfolk.
“This is going to be our chance to talk about that clinic,” Public Affairs Officer Kevin Hynes said. “We’ll get to show off our plans for the clinic and what it’s going to look like and how it’s adapting to the changing needs of our veterans.”
VA officials said the new clinic will be 9,100 square feet compared to the 6,000 square feet of the current clinic. It will also be outfitted with state-of-the-art medical technology and provide some new services such as teleconsultations. They said they expect the clinic will see its first patient in January 2020.
The VA leaders also spoke about the new Mission Act, which took effect on Thursday. The Mission Act expands VA enrollee’s access to private care and to clinics outside of traditional VA facilities. This means if the VA does not provide a certain service in an area, VA members may be able to seek care from non-VA providers using their VA coverage.
“It’s changing how the VA provides care for veterans,” Hynes said. There’s a lot of changes coming on and there’s a lot of things veterans need to know.”
