This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Washington • Utah's federal delegation is again pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs to evaluate whether it could place a new V.A. center in northern Utah to help veterans now hours away from facilities that provide care.
In a letter to V.A. Secretary Robert McDonald, Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee and Rep. Rob Bishop say that care centers now in Salt Lake City, Provo and St. George provide critical help to veterans needing mental health and counseling services. But they note that nearly a quarter of Utah's veterans live in and around Ogden, meaning they are hours away from V.A. services.
"For many of these veterans, taking this amount of time away from work and family is a major obstacle to seeking the treatment they need," the members of Congress wrote.
The delegation previously asked then-Secretary Eric Shinseki to look into adding another V.A. center but noted in its letter that no action was taken.