What a strange way to break good news.

Last Friday afternoon U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson made an announcement in Walla Walla that veterans across southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and the Idaho Panhandle have long wanted to hear:

“We are not – and I cannot stress this enough – we are not going to close this hospital,” Nicholson said of the aging VA medical center that had been the subject of considerable concern since a federal commission in 2004 recommended it be shuttered.

The structure, which hadn’t had major improvements in 50 years, will be replaced by a new outpatient facility, Nicholson said.

Normally such welcome news would be greeted with rousing cheers, but this was no normal announcement.

Nicholson’s arrival was a closely guarded secret. U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris, R-Wash., was one of the few people who knew about it.

Walla Walla’s city manager was told to be available, but not told for whom or what. Several local leaders, including some who worked hard to keep the hospital afloat, were not informed. When some found out, they were initially told they couldn’t attend the announcement.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who had been working on the issue for two years, was kept in the dark. A press release wasn’t issued until Friday morning.

As a result, only about 45 people were in attendance for the announcement. Few veterans were there.

Beyond the headline that a new facility would replace the old hospital, Nicholson didn’t impart many details.

Left unanswered were major questions, such as the cost of the facility, an approximate opening date, where the money would come from (it’s not included in any budget request to Congress) and the fate of the rest of the hospital campus.

A question about what was to become of inpatient mental health care and nursing home care was met with a vague reference to a partnership with local and state governments and nonprofits to brainstorm innovations. In short, he didn’t know.

Nicholson then blew out of town as quickly as he blew in, leaving many people scratching their heads.

Was this an election-year ploy? After all, Nicholson was once the national chairman of the Republican Party. If so, it was awfully clumsy, because McMorris was left to field questions for which she had few answers.

Or, was this actually bad news in disguise?

We might never know why Nicholson chose to spring this odd surprise on Walla Walla. But now that he has, veterans have every right to hold him to his promise “not to reduce services to veterans, but indeed, quite the opposite.”

The VA has a duty to work out the details and convey them to veterans as soon as possible.

On the surface, it would seem that vets’ fears of having to travel to Spokane, Boise, Seattle or Portland for health care services have been alleviated. But if some still harbor a gnawing sense of dread, who can blame them?