Veterans in eastern Oregon have access to an outpatient clinic in Hines, next to Burns, while those in northeastern Oregon, can obtain outpatient services at a clinic in La Grande. ThereвЂ™s a health care center in Eugene and outpatient clinics in The Dalles, Bend, Klamath Falls, Grants Pass, Brookings, North Bend, Salem, Newport, Lincoln City, West Linn, Fairview, Hillsboro and Warrenton. The Portland and Vancouver facilities are the largest campuses. Veterans now get care at medical facilities in Portland, Vancouver, Roseburg and White City, east of Medford. The area serves more than 150,000 veterans, but two-thirds live in an area spanning the north Oregon coast to Bend, including Portland. Most of the veterans in Oregon are in the federal agencyвЂ™s South Cascades Market region, which includes southwest Washington and stretches to the California border. вЂњIвЂ™ll continue to watchdog the VA to make sure these changes deliver on the promise to fully support our nationвЂ™s commitment to veterans.вЂќ вЂњVeterans deserve top-notch services and facilities when they return home to civilian life in our state,вЂќ Wyden said in a statement to the Capital Chronicle. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, who said it will better serve women veterans in Oregon and those who are older or live in rural areas while protecting the safety of veterans and staff. вЂњMany of the potential changes to VAвЂ™s health care infrastructure may be several years away and are dependent on the commission, presidential and congressional decisions, as well as robust stakeholder engagement and planning,вЂќ Daniel Herrigstad, head of communications for the VA Portland Health Care System, cautioned in a statement to the Capital Chronicle.

For Oregon and southwest Washington, the modernization would cost $3.5 billion but lead to lower operating costs over the long term, the report said. Modernization plans have to be approved by Congress and the Biden administration, and Congress has to appropriate funds. The commission will conduct public hearings on the recommendations and then will send its own proposals to the Biden administration next year. The recommendations from the VA go to the Asset and Infrastructure Commission, an independent group whose members were recently appointed by President Joe Biden. Released Monday, the plan would modernize health care facilities in Oregon and southwest Washington, add services at some locations, create two new clinics and shorten the time veterans in rural areas spend commuting for services. Oregon veterans would get better and in some cases faster medical care under a restructuring proposed by the U.S.

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