Sen. Jerry Moran recently introduced legislation to extend a federal program that allows veterans to receive health care in rural communities, including Great Bend, without traveling long distances to VA hospitals. Project ARCH (Access Received Closer to Home) needs to continue beyond its three-year pilot that expires this September.
An 88-year-old Great Bend man reported last year that his medical treatment used to involve trips to Wichita. When he was able to travel to Hays instead, he saved about an hour of windshield time coming and going. And now, the service is available right here in Great Bend.
“Analysis shows that more than 90 percent of veterans who received primary care services through Project ARCH were ‘completely satisfied’ with the care, and cited significantly shortened travel times,” Moran notes. “If reauthorized, the ARCH program would continue to offer cost-effective, quality health care services for veterans who may not have sought VA health care before, as well as services closer to home for those who do not have immediate access to VA hospitals or outpatient clinics.”
Moran was instrumental in passing the original ARCH legislation.
We need more of these common-sense pieces of legislation, which can save money and improve quality of life.