Sen. Chuck Grassley today said that the Department of Veterans Affairs will create six new outpatient clinics in Iowa as part of a comprehensive plan to modernize its facilities.
The new Community Based Outpatient Clinics are scheduled to be built in Carroll, Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids, Ottumwa, Shenandoah and Spirit Lake. The facilities are expected to be completed by 2012.
"This will improve access to care for veterans. The VA wanted to make it easier for our veterans to receive the care they need without having to drive hours," Grassley said. "Today's practice of medicine is much different than it was 74 years ago."
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, nearly 80 percent of the health care provided by the VA hospitals is outpatient care.
The VA is currently modernizing its health care facilities as part of a comprehensive process called CARES, Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services.