NEWPORT – Veterans seeking primary healthcare through the Veterans Administration (VA) received welcome news on Monday. Senator Bernie Sanders, who serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee, announced that a VA outreach clinic will open at North County Hospital on Thursday, August 12.

“We have heard over the years from many veterans in the Northeast Kingdom that it has been hard to access care,” Senator Sanders said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “We have been working very hard to make sure that they have access to primary health care right where they live.”

The clinic, operated by the VA on the North Country Hospital campus, will operate with limited hours initially. The clinic will be open every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and every second Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Though the hours will be limited at first, the VA has committed to expanding its hours based on usage, Senator Sanders said. As the demand increases, so too will the clinic’s hours of operation, he said.

“What we realize is that it can be very difficult for veterans to travel all the way to White River Junction for care,” Senator Sanders said. “Especially in the winter time when you are not feeling well, that can be a very difficult trip to make.” The recent deployment of National Guard troops to Iraq and Afghanistan only serves to underscore the importance of providing high quality care to veterans in their own communities, Senator Sanders said.

“We have put a lot of resources into treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, which are very real concerns for our returning veterans,” Senator Sanders said. “But these are services that will be available for all our veterans, whether they come back from Afghanistan or served in World War Two. We are committed to providing the best possible primary health care to all of our veterans, regardless of where they live.”

The clinic will host a grand opening on September 9 allowing veterans to visit the facilities, meet the staff, and ask questions, he said. The Newport clinic will be the sixth community-based outpatient clinic operated by the White River Junction VA Hospital. The others are in Bennington, Brattleboro, Colchester, Rutland, and Littleton, New Hampshire.