Senators Reid, Ensign Work to Help Southern Nevada Veterans

Letter to VA official requests speedy action to build Laughlin clinic

December 19, 2007 -- Washington, DC— U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign of Nevada sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Acting Secretary Gordon Mansfield to express their support to build a veterans health care clinic in Laughlin.

“Nevada has one of the largest veterans’ populations in the country,” said Reid. “Right now, some veterans living in Southern Nevada have to travel great distances to get the health care services they need. Building a health care clinic in Laughlin would relieve a great deal of stress for our veterans and will help ensure they receive the proper health care they deserve. I am committed to ensuring our soldiers, veterans, and their families receive the retirement and health care benefits that they were promised when they enlisted.”

“It is extremely important that this country uphold its commitment to our veterans and building a clinic in Laughlin will help fulfill our responsibility. These servicemen and women answered the call of duty to our country, and they deserve the very best the United States has to offer in return,” said Ensign, who met with VA Secretary James Peake recently to discuss the need to improve rural health care across Nevada, particularly in Laughlin and Elko. “I’m hopeful the VA will move forward with the clinic in Laughlin because it will help deliver better care to our veterans.”

A copy of the letter is found below:

December 18, 2007

The Honorable Gordon H. Mansfield
Acting Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20420

Dear Secretary Mansfield:

I am writing to request that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) support the request submitted by the U.S. Veterans Administration's Southern Nevada Health Care System (SNHCS) to build a clinic in Laughlin, Nevada. It is my understanding the SNHCS recently filed an application with the Headquarters VA office.

I am aware that the VA Headquarters office requires the SNHCS have at least 1,300 U.S. military veterans or qualified relatives enrolled for treatment in order to operate the clinic. I understand that it will take approximately one year to process the application. I also know that once the application is approved; the SNHCS will begin the process of acquiring the land to build from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The southern Nevada VA currently contracts with a laboratory in Bullhead City, Arizona to provide health care services and treatment one day a week for Southern Nevadans. Building a clinic in Southern Nevada would tremendously reduce the frustration of veterans in receiving quality health care and it would reduce travel time.

I look forward to your support and consideration in moving the request forward expeditiously to build a clinic in Laughlin, Nevada. I would be happy to provide any information necessary to make this request a reality. Please feel free to contact Bob Herbert (Senator Reid) at (202) 224-3542 and Mike Ragsdale (Senator Ensign) at 224-6244 if you have any questions about this request.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

HARRY REID
United States Senator

JOHN ENSIGN
United States Senator

Source: Senators Harry Reid