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08/10/2009: "Vets Complain To Larsen On FH VA Clinic Loss"

(Larsen and VA officials at American Legion)

Representative Rick Larsen heard complaints Monday about the impact on health care when he held a meeting with veterans in Friday Harbor.

The opening of a VA (Veterans’ Administration) clinic in Mt. Vernon resulted in the termination of staffing for the VA clinic in San Juan County.

The problem for 2,500 vets in the county -the largest per capita number in the state- is not just the expense and time of making a trip to the mainland, but that the enrollment in the Mt. Vernon clinic is over subscribed, and there is a waiting list of over 500 vets.

According to a story by Tina Barnes in a recent newsletter sent to members of the San Juan Island American Legion, it is important to “let the Seattle VA board know how important that clinic [in Friday Harbor] was to all of us.”