Breaking News: VA to open clinic in Libby

The U.S. Veterans Administration has approved a new veterans outreach clinic for Libby, Sen. Jon Tester’s office announced Thursday.

The clinic is being opened in an effort to improve health care for the nearly 3,800 veterans who live in Lincoln County.

Lincoln County is the only Montana county served by the VA’s regional hospital in Spokane, Wash., rather than Helena. Veterans in Libby currently must drive more than 100 miles to Coeur d’Alene or Spokane for VA health care.

 "Health care is something that these men and women have earned through service to our country,” said Tester, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. "Honoring that commitment to our veterans should not depend on whether they live in a big city. You put your life on the line for our country, you deserve quality health care – no matter where you live."

 The new community-based outreach clinic is expected to open later this year as a part-time facility. It will be managed by the Spokane Veterans Administration Medical Center and will be the fourth outreach clinic opened in Montana since Tester joined the Veterans’ Affairs Committee in 2007. Other clinics have been added in Lewistown, Cut Bank, and Havre.

More on this story coming in the July 22 edition of the News or check back online.