10.02.14

Hoeven Announces Grant to Improve Health Care Access for Benson County Veterans

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a grant totaling $50,000 to the Robert Tovsrud VFW Post 757 to improve health care access for North Dakota veterans living in Benson County. The grant is made available through the Highly Rural Transportation Grants program and will fund transportation services to assist approximately 177 veterans with travel to VA medical centers and other facilities providing VA care.

“Providing our veterans access to the health care services they need and have earned remains one of the most important ways we can uphold our commitment to honoring their military service,” said Hoeven. “We have been working hard to improve access to health care for North Dakota’s veterans, and this new grant will help our veterans living in the Benson County to travel more efficiently to their medical appointments.”

Hoeven has been pushing to get the VA to allow veterans in western North Dakota to use local health care providers when services aren’t available at the local VA clinic. To this end, Hoeven cosponsored bipartisan legislation to reform the VA and ensure that veterans receive timely care. The senator is also pushing to enable veterans to receive long-term care services in their local communities, closer to family and friends.

In July, Hoeven announced that the VA awarded a $375,000 grant to improve access to health care for veterans living in rural areas of North Dakota. This grant will benefit approximately 5,477 veterans living in 36 counties in North Dakota.