Mount Vernon area chosen for VA clinic

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday it will open a new health clinic in Northwest Washington to serve veterans in a five-county area, — a development lawmakers called "great news."

In a letter to two Washington state members of Congress, Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson said the agency will open a community-based outpatient clinic in the Mount Vernon area within a year.

The clinic will serve veterans in San Juan, Island, Whatcom and Skagit counties, as well as northern Snohomish County.

The agency said it is setting up a process to determine the clinic's exact location based on the local veteran population, access to transportation and other factors.

In a letter to Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen, both Washington Democrats, Nicholson said the Mount Vernon area was the most central location to reduce travel times for veterans in the five-county area.

Larsen called the announcement "great news, and a long time coming."

Veterans in Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Arlington and other areas of Northwest Washington "have traveled too far, for too long, to get the health care they need and deserve," Larsen said. "This clinic will bring veterans' health care closer to veterans."