[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 25, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN SUPPORT OF RURAL VETERANS HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL H. MICHAUD

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 2006

  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, since the founding of our Nation, rural 
Americans have always answered the call to service in times of war. One 
in three of the patients seen at the Department of Veterans Affairs 
lives in a rural community. Veterans who live in rural settings are 
often older and have more physical and mental health diseases as 
compared to veterans who live in suburban or urban settings. According 
to the 2005 Institute of Medicine report, The Future of Rural Health, 
the smaller, poorer, and more isolated a rural community is, the more 
difficult it is to ensure the availability of high-quality health 
services. With some 44 percent of current military recruits coming from 
rural areas, we must help VA focus on meeting the pressing health care 
needs of rural veterans.
  I have introduced H.R. 5524, the Rural Veterans Health Care Act of 
2006, to take a comprehensive and practical approach towards improving 
care for our rural veterans by increasing community based facilities 
and outreach, encouraging the training and recruitment of health care 
professionals, focusing on research to develop innovative solutions to 
the challenges of delivering rural health care, and developing the 
information technology infrastructure we need to enhance health care 
services in rural areas.
  Rural America has always answered the call to service. We should do 
everything we can to ensure that rural veterans have the same 
reasonable access to the high quality care available through the VA as 
veterans in suburban and urban areas. I urge my colleagues to support 
rural veterans and pass H.R. 5524.
  Mr. Speaker I would like to include in the Congressional Record a 
letter of support for H.R. 5524, the Rural Veterans Health Care Act of 
2006, from the National Rural Health Association.


                            National Rural Health Association,

                                   Kansas City, MO, July 17, 2006.
     Hon. Michael Michaud,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Michaud: On behalf of the National 
     Rural Health Association, I am writing to express our strong 
     support for H.R 5524, the ``Rural Veterans Health Care Act of 
     2006.''
       The NRHA is a national nonprofit, non partisan, membership 
     organization with approximately 10,000 members that provides 
     leadership on rural health issues. The Association's mission 
     is to improve the health of rural Americans and to provide 
     leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, 
     communications, education and research. The NRHA membership 
     consists of a diverse collection of individuals and 
     organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an 
     interest in rural health.
       The NRHA members are keenly aware of the disproportionate 
     rates at which rural people serve in the military and the 
     issues our rural veterans face in obtaining health and mental 
     health care in rural communities. We are pleased to see so 
     many provisions in this legislation to address these 
     concerns. In particular, the provisions which call for 
     expansion of and improved quality of services provided by Vet 
     Centers, Outreach Health Centers, and CBOCs in rural areas. 
     These services represent approaches that greatly increase 
     access to quality care for these vets. Vet Centers, as is 
     their role, will also educate returning rural veterans to 
     their benefits and the services they have earned.
       The bill also addresses the long term care needs of rural 
     vets, the use of an electronic medical record system to 
     enhance patient safety and improve quality of care, takes 
     advantage of the groundbreaking IOM report on the future of 
     rural health care recommendations, and provides a provision 
     for the training of health care professionals in rural 
     facilities serving veterans. All of these provisions are 
     included in NRHA's support. The NRHA is especially supportive 
     of the call for a national Advisory Committee on Rural 
     Veterans, and offer up any assistance we might make in 
     recommending members for this committee should the 
     legislation be successful. In addition, we are pleased that 
     the legislation increases the number of rural rotations for 
     medical residents training at the VA and takes steps to 
     enhance the education, training, retention, and recruitment 
     of health professionals in rural areas. Research has shown 
     that rural rotations are effective in increasing the number 
     of medical personnel that choose to practice in rural areas.
       The NRHA is supportive and involved in the dissemination of 
     research and resources developed by the Department of Health 
     and Human Services (HHS) Rural Research Centers, therefore, 
     we support the provisions in the bill which would designate 
     at least four centers as the location for research targeted 
     at defining rural veteran health and mental health care 
     needs, and chronic disease management. NRHA is keenly aware 
     of the limited research on rural veterans and their families, 
     and this provision will begin to address the dearth of 
     research in this area.
       The NRHA maintains a Minority and Multicultural committee 
     within our organization and develops many policy statements 
     regarding the unique needs of rural minority groups and 
     women. We are pleased to see the specific inclusion of Native 
     American, Native Hawaiian and Native Alaskan veterans in this 
     legislation. This legislation would expand VA's health care 
     presence in these rural and remote communities. The NRHA also 
     hopes that special consideration will also be given to the 
     unprecedented number of African American women and all women 
     serving at the highest rates ever seen in our country and the 
     special needs that they will bring into the VA system in just 
     a few short years.
       The NRHA developed the first national policy paper as a 
     non-Veteran Service Organization on rural veterans in 2003-
     2004, and we are pleased to see some of the recommendations 
     called for in our policy paper addressed in this legislation.
       For these many reasons, the NRHA strongly supports your 
     efforts to urge Congress to enact the ``Rural Veterans Health 
     Care Act of 2006.'' Thank you for your leadership on this 
     issue.
           Sincerely,
                                                   William Sexton,
     President.

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