Peru, IN—Today, Congressmen Joe Donnelly and Dan Burton marked the opening of the Peru/Miami County Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) for area veterans.  The new clinic will provide primary care and mental health services to area veterans starting immediately. 

“I’m pleased that veterans from Miami County and the surrounding counties of Fulton, Cass, and Howard will now have quality VA care nearby,” said Donnelly. “Our Hoosier veterans deserve superior medical care that is accessible, and this clinic will provide veterans with a new, convenient facility. Congressman Burton and I fought to get this clinic approved, and I am glad to hear that today the doors will be opened.  I thank the VA Northern Indiana Health Care System for providing additional care for our veterans.”

“One of our chief responsibilities as a nation is to take care of our veterans and do everything we can to make their lives a little easier,” said Burton.  “This new clinic in Peru answers that call by providing more accessible and convenient health care for veterans in the surrounding counties.  Our heroes requiring primary care or mental health care will benefit from having a facility much closer to home.  If a veteran is in a tough spot, they can have some peace of mind knowing that help is nearby, and not hours away.  Along with Congressman Donnelly, I thank the Department of Veterans Affairs and the employees and doctors of the VA health care systems in Northern Indiana for working to make this opening possible.  To our veterans, thank you all for serving our country—I hope you find this clinic to be helpful in the coming months and years.”

Congressmen Donnelly and Burton have long advocated for additional, locally accessible resources for Hoosier veterans and supported the announcement in July 2008 from the Northern Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs that the VA selected Peru for a new CBOC.  Congressman Donnelly also worked with former Congressman Mark Souder to advocate for the opening of a CBOC in Goshen, which opened in October 2008.  In June 2008, Congressman Donnelly marked the opening of a Veterans’ Multi-Use Outreach Clinic in Logansport, which offers a combination of services from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and Vet Centers.

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