Author: Reilly Lowery

Critics have complained that Western Montana’s veterans have had to make do with an undersized clinic, but that’s about to change. Friday in Missoula was the groundbreaking for a vastly updated outpatient veteran’s clinic in Missoula. At over 52,000 energy efficient square feet, Missoula’s brand-new VA facility will be a much larger upgrade over the existing Community Based Outpatient Clinic, or CBOC. The new David J. Thatcher VA Clinic, named for the decorated Montanan who participated in the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan, will have 154 percent more space than the existing clinic. When it opens late next year, the

MISSOULA — A crowd gathered on Friday to celebrate the start of construction on the new David J. Thatcher Veterans Affairs clinic. The event brought together Montana’s U.S. senators, veterans, the Salish-Kootenai tribe and more. The facility will be 60,000 square feet, covering eight acres. That’s about a 40,000 square foot increase from the current clinic. The $48 million dollar clinic is named after Montana veteran, David J. Thatcher, who received the silver star for his service in the Doolittle Raid. The facility will have tele-medicine technology. Health care professionals will be able to treat patients virtually, who are unable

Service veterans across western Montana will say goodbye to the cramped confines of the Department of Veterans Affairs current Missoula medical clinic next winter when a new integrated care center opens on West Broadway. VA officials joined veterans, Native Americans and members of Montana’s congressional delegation on Friday to break ground on that new $31 million facility, which will double the size of the antiquated clinic off Palmer Street. “Today marks our first next step forward for Montana veterans, both those with us today and future veterans,” said Dr. Judy Hayman, director of the VA Montana Healthcare System. “This new

MISSOULA, Mont. — A groundbreaking ceremony will take place Friday, for the new Missoula Veterans’ Affairs Clinic. The Community-Based Outpatient Clinic will be built on a vacant lot at Mary Jane Boulevard and West Broadway. It received federal funding in the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017. Both U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester will attend the groundbreaking. The CBOC will have an estimated 52,557 energy efficient net usable square feet and serve approximately 47,000 area veterans with Primary Care, Mental Health, and Specialty Care services. The following was sent out by U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs:

With repairs ongoing on parts of the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works that supplies much of the water in the Milk River, the water users found out they are getting a break on the repairs. Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced Wednesday that U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees operation of the system, has determined the repairs qualify as emergency work, reducing the cost to the users. Tester and Daines each had sent letters requesting the designation. The system is part of the Milk River Project irrigation system and normally has 75 percent of the cost

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) on July 2 introduced legislation that would provide nursing homes with resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and would reauthorize funding for programs under the Elder Justice Act of 2009. “This bill is critical to ensuring that our senior care facilities have the resources necessary to continue serving and keeping Montana’s seniors safe especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sen. Daines. The Emergency Support for Nursing Homes and Elder Justice Reform Act of 2020, S. 4182, introduced by Sen. Daines along with U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Martha McSally (R-AZ), would provide