[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 79 (Tuesday, June 8, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        AMERICA'S BEST VA CLINIC

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                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 2004

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I want to call the nation's attention to 
the exemplary work done by the staff of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Clinic in Bennington, Vermont. Recently, the Federal Executive 
Association gave its ``Federal Employee of the Year Award'' to the 
entire Bennington VA Clinic staff.
  As the Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) housed at the Vermont 
Veterans Home in Bennington, the facility and its staff serves the 
primary health care needs of eligible veterans in the region of 
southwestern Vermont. Over 1800 veterans in Vermont get exceptional 
medical care from Dr. Peter King and his colleagues in the clinic. As a 
sign of their remarkable dedication to the health and well-being of 
veterans, the Bennington VA Clinic was rated among the top ten clinics 
in the nation in ten of twelve categories. Ranking so highly among the 
more than 850 community-based VA clinics is a clear indication of the 
extraordinary work done by the Bennington staff,
  Established in 1998, the Bennington VA Clinic affords veterans a 
single primary care provider to coordinate their care on an ongoing 
basis. It, along with the Fort Ethan Allen CBOC in Colchester, the CBOC 
in Rutland, and the CBOC in Littleton, NH (which serves veterans in the 
St. Johnsbury area), makes primary medical care more accessible to 
those who cannot always make the long journey to our excellent VA 
facilities in White River Junction.
  We in Vermont are proud both of our veterans, and of the dedicated 
people who honor them by meeting their medical needs.

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