Vitter, Boustany announce lease awarded for Lafayette VA Clinic, push continues for Lake Charles VA

U.S. Senator David Vitter, R-La., announced Monday that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a lease for a new Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Lafayette. The new facility will provide primary care and specialty care services to veterans in southwest Louisiana. Vitter will continue pushing for progress on a new veterans’ health clinic in Lake Charles.
“While this is great news for veterans in Lafayette, we can’t forget that the VA still owes a clinic to veterans in Lake Charles too. If not for the VA’s own screw-ups, both of these clinics would have already been built,” Vitter said. “We absolutely owe it to our veterans to provide them with the best and most accessible care possible, and we aren’t going to let up until both of these clinics are completed.”
Vitter and Congressman Charles Boustany R-La., last week followed up with VA Secretary Robert McDonald highlighting the fact that during VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson’s visit to Louisiana last month, he found conditions at the Lafayette community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) “inadequate and unacceptable,” a news release from Vitter's office stated. Gibson visited Louisiana in February at the urging of Vitter and Boustany, the news release stated.
In a separate news release, Boustany stated the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA)has awarded a contract for construction of a new community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) in Lafayette without announcing any forward progress in Lake Charles. Boustany secured authorization for both clinics during last year’s landmark VA reform legislation, he stated.
Last week, Boustany and Vitter sent a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald urging the Secretary to “pay close attention to the progress of each facility and do all in your power to expedite the Lafayette and Lake Charles clinics whenever possible,” Boustany's news stated. Boustany and Vitter sent the letter after VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson visited the Lafayette CBOC last month, calling the facility “inadequate and unacceptable," he stated.
Boustany said, “Finally, Lafayette veterans have cause to celebrate. This has been a long time coming, and although it is overdue, this contract announcement represents a positive step forward allowing construction to begin on this important clinic.
“But the work doesn’t end here. My colleagues in the Louisiana delegation and I will continue to hold the VA’s feet to the fire to ensure construction proceeds and to ensure that veterans have a wide array of services available in Lafayette.
“However, while Lafayette veterans celebrate, Lake Charles veterans are left feeling frustrated without adequate news on progress for their clinic. I’m right there with them. I fought to get authorization for this clinic through Congress, and I’m not done fighting. Senator David Vitter and I have expressed over and again the immediate needs of veterans in Lake Charles, and the urgency required to ensure this need is met.
“Moving forward, this is my primary focus on behalf of our veterans. If there’s one thing I’ve built a reputation for, it’s that I get things done, and I don’t back down. I’m going to continue fighting to ensure the Lake Charles clinic becomes a reality.”