West Side VA clinic in works

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday it will open a new VA health clinic in northwest Washington state to serve veterans in a five-county area.

In a letter to two Washington state members of Congress, VA Secretary James Nicholson said the agency will open a community-based outpatient clinic in the Mount Vernon, Wash., area within a year.

The clinic will serve veterans in San Juan, Island, Whatcom and Skagit counties, as well as northern Snohomish County.

In a letter to Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen, both Washington Democrats, Nicholson said the Mount Vernon area was the most centrally located spot, to reduce travel times for veterans in the five-county area.

Larsen called the VA announcement “great news, and a long time coming.”

The VA announcement comes a year after Nicholson approved a proposal to build an outpatient health clinic in northwest Washington, and six months after Murray publicly pressed Nicholson for details on the clinic at a Senate hearing.