Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) Veterans in and around Lewiston, Idaho, will benefit from an expanded veterans clinic, with longer hours and a larger facility, and that fact has earned the praise of Sen. Larry Craig.

"I've worked hard the last two years to have VA assess the needs of our veterans in the northern part of my state of Idaho. I'm pleased that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Jim Nicholson, completed the assessment and is swiftly addressing the needs of our veterans in Lewiston and its surrounding communities," said Craig.

Nicholson made the official announcement concerning the change this week in Washington, D.C.   Craig says the opening of the new facility is expected sometime this year, perhaps by early fall.

"No definite timeline has been established. The task the VA now has at hand is to locate a larger office space within Lewiston that meets the needs of veterans," said Craig, the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs currently operates a community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) in a small rented office in Lewiston which only has 750 square feet of space.

In order to improve access to primary care and primary mental health care for those patients, VA will relocate the clinic into a larger space with approximately 3,500 square feet, and extend its hours from two days per month to a full five day, 40 hours per week operation.

The expanded space will accommodate a primary care team, a primary mental health provider and support staff. Mental health services would include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse group clinics.

"I am pleased that our veterans in Lewiston and its surrounding communities will soon enjoy better health services and expanded hours without having to travel 110 miles to access VA's state of the art health care," Craig said. "This is wonderful news for our veterans."

About 1,700 veterans from a four-county area surrounding Lewiston traveled to VA's Walla Walla facility for health care last year. The Lewiston facility is under the direction of VA's Walla Walla medical center which will be in charge of the lease acquisition process.

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