Kilmer backs new Bremerton veterans outpatient clinic on Kitsap Way
BREMERTON — U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-6th District, expressed his support for veterans after a lease for a new Bremerton Community Based Outpatient Clinic (or CBOC) was signed. The VA Puget Sound Health Care System announced the new site will house a Patient Aligned Care Team (or PACT) that will significantly increase the capacity to treat local veterans.
The new facilities are needed to keep pace with the growing need for care in the region. There were 14,600 visits from veterans to the current CBOC in 2014. Once the site is open it will be triple the size and will lead to an increase in staff from 22 to 30.
“Awarding this contract to open a new Community Based Outpatient Clinic is important for veterans in need in Kitsap County,” said Kilmer.
“If you have served our country than we should have your back. But for too long, veterans in Bremerton have dealt with inadequate and overcrowded facilities that have led to difficulties in accessing quality care. This is an important step in the process and I am proud to have been part of the push with our local leaders to get to this point, but we’re not done. We’ve got to keep working until the new clinic opens its doors so veterans are getting the care they’ve earned.”
Kilmer has continued to push for a new facility to help veterans who have not been able to access care at the Bremerton CBOC. In a letter sent in September to Robert McDonald, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Kilmer called for a new site to be chosen and for the facility to be opened as soon as possible.