WASHINGTON – Veterans Administration Secretary James Nicholson on Thursday agreed to meet with Sen. Patty Murray and provide details on a so-far cryptic plan to preserve medical services for military veterans in the Walla Walla area.
Murray, D-Wash., had complained that Nicholson and his staff have provided few details on a timetable or costs – or even what services will be offered – at a clinic to replace the aging Jonathan Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla.
Murray, who has worked for years to preserve veterans care in Eastern Washington, was caught off guard by Nicholson’s July 7 announcement of the new clinic. She has been unable to learn details since, even though she serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
So Thursday, at a hearing on an unrelated matter, Murray pressed Nicholson for details on the Walla Walla site, as well an outpatient clinic planned north of Seattle.
“Your visit to our state raised more questions than it answered,” Murray told Nicholson. “Since then veterans have been scratching their heads wondering what your promises really mean, and if they’ll get the care they’ve been promised.”
Nicholson replied that his July 6-7 visits to Bellingham and Walla Walla were intended to ease anxiety and assure state veterans they would continue to receive high-quality care.
“I made the decision on Walla Walla that we would keep the campus open. That was the purpose of my visit – to relieve patient and staff anxiety,” he told Murray.
Nicholson said he has offered few details because plans are still in flux. But he pledged to work with Murray and local leaders to ensure that the clinic meets local needs.
The Wainwright hospital serves 69,000 veterans in parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Murray and other members of Congress have been seeking a commitment from the VA that veterans’ health services would still be provided in Walla Walla.
When Murray asked for a meeting in her office to go over the plan, Nicholson hesitated, then said yes.
Nicholson said later he was not sure why Murray was unhappy with him, noting that not only has he pledged to retain health care services in Walla Walla, but will add the outpatient clinic in northwestern Washington.
“I don’t know why,” Nicholson said in an interview. “She has stated she was surprised (at the July 7 announcement). Maybe we should have done a better job informing her.”
Murray, for her part, said she suspected politics played a role in her exclusion. Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris was at the July 7 news conference – a fact Murray called more than a coincidence.
Murray also cited a June 23 press release by the VA, in which officials announced plans for 25 new community-based clinics in 17 states. All but five of the clinics are in House districts represented by Republicans, Murray said.
“I’m concerned that politics has been part of the VA process,” Murray said.
Nicholson said he was not aware of the statistics Murray cited, and denied that politics played a role in where the clinics are located.
Neither of the two Washington state clinics was included in the June 23 announcement. The Walla Walla site is in McMorris’ district, while the northwestern site is represented by Democrat Rick Larsen.
Nicholson disputed published reports that the new outpatient clinic planned for northwestern Washington will be located in Bellingham.
“It will be somewhere between Seattle and the Canadian border,” he said. “I did not specify where it would be.”
He told Murray the administration hopes to decide on a site by the end of the year and open the clinic within six months of that decision.
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