WASHINGTON — Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden this week said he plans to personally contact the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding recommendations to reduce services at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla.

The VA in mid-March released a report from the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission to modernize and realign the VA health care system. According to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, the report is in response to the 2018’s MISSION Act, also known as the Veteran Community Care Act.

After site visits, listening sessions and data gathering around the country, the AIR Commission listed among its recommendations that the Walla Walla VA reduce services to primary care and mental health, which could result in the facility being reclassified as a community-based outpatient clinic, known better as a CBOC, rather than a full medical center, according to the Walla Walla UB.

At a virtual town hall for Union County residents on Wednesday, April 20, Wyden addressed several concerns related to veteran health care in Eastern Oregon. Key points included slow hiring processes, travel pay, difficulties at call centers across VA clinics and attaining health care services outside of the VA.

Wyden noted he has been hearing often from veterans on similar issues and said he will be reaching out to the VA himself for an explanation and how to address the four major concerns brought up at the meeting and potential changes to the Walla Walla medical center.

“Vets have earned the benefits because of their extraordinary service,” Wyden said. “The vets committed their lives to our country and now I’m going to make sure we make our commitment to them really clear.”

A market analysis showed veteran enrollment in VISN 20, the service region centered by the Walla Walla VA, is predicted to increase modestly and largely outside of Walla Walla. According to the Walla Walla paper, the recommended strategy is to invest in new outpatient facilities and expand services in existing clinics to meet future demand, while “rightsizing” services at the Walla Walla VA, officials said.

The full set of recommendations call for closing a total of 17 VA medical centers nationwide while building 14 new ones and 140 new clinics, according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review, and encourages veterans, especially in rural areas, to seek care from private providers.

Under the proposal, Walla Walla would become an outpatient clinic similar to those in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Wenatchee, Washington, per the Spokesman-Review. Along with ending surgeries and other inpatient treatment at the Walla Walla hospital, the plan proposes relocating the residential rehabilitation treatment program housed there to Spokane, where such a program doesn’t exist.

No changes in La Grande

According to Walla Walla VA Medical Center Public Affairs Officer Linda Wondra, the proposed changes to Walla Walla will not lead to any changes at the local level in La Grande, which has provided services to veterans from as far away as Pendleton.

“At the current time, we have no knowledge or concern that the La Grande clinic will be affected in any way,” Wondra said. “All our sites of care are expected to continue providing care as before.”

Per the Spokane paper, relocating services to Spokane and Richland would serve a larger number of veterans than the Walla Walla area, the VA report says. According to an assessment of VA’s Inland Northwest market, about 5,000 veterans enrolled in VA health care services live within an hour drive of Walla Walla, while more than 9,100 live within an hour of Richland and nearly 29,000 within an hour of Spokane.

Not all local veterans oppose the plan to move to outpatient services. Vietnam War destroyer sailor George Oblisk, of Athena, said that’s how he uses the Walla Walla VA now.

“The change wouldn’t affect me,” he said. “They just expanded dental services and eyeglasses there. They put up a whole new building.”

And if he needed surgery, the VA would send him to Portland or pay for it at St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton, or Providence St. Mary Medical Center, Walla Walla.

“I wouldn’t want to undergo surgery at the Walla Walla VA,” he said.

A statement from the Walla Walla VA stated the proposals are strictly recommendations, with nothing set in stone to date. Any potential changes to the infrastructure of health care within Veterans Affairs could be several years away, depending on congressional decision making.

The Walla Walla VA is continuing efforts to strengthen its regional health care services in areas with a high volume of veterans, such as Richland and Yakima. Moving forward, the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission is set to conduct public hearings on any new recommendations heading into January 2023 — input and feedback at these hearings could impact the extent of the recommendations to the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla.