Craig, Murray support VA center in Walla Walla

WASHINGTON – The aging Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla has picked up two powerful allies.

The senior senators from Washington and Idaho said Thursday that they would work together to keep a U.S. Veterans Affairs health care “footprint” in Walla Walla.

The medical center has been in the cross hairs over the last year as the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluates which of its facilities to keep open.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has been a longtime defender of the Walla Walla facility. At a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Thursday, Murray told a VA official that she is concerned about the implementation of Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services, a program designed to examine and make recommendations about the VA’s health care facilities.

“Unfortunately for veterans served by Walla Walla … the CARES process has lost some of its credibility,” Murray said. “The bottom line is, we have to maintain a VA footprint in Walla Walla.”

Sen. Larry Craig, a Republican, visited the VA hospital last month at the invitation of Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris, whose Eastern Washington congressional district includes Walla Walla. The hospital draws some patients from Craig’s home state of Idaho, a fact that Craig pointed out in the hearing.

“I was pleased to hear you say the VA should keep a footprint in Walla Walla,” Craig said to Murray. “That is a basis from which you and I can work positively together.”

The Wainwright Medical Center serves an estimated 69,000 veterans in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The facility is about 100 years old and employs 350 people, with an annual payroll of $18 million to $20 million.