The VA of the Black Hills has issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on its proposal to move of many veterans services out of Hot Springs and to Rapid City.
The document known as an E-I-S lays out several alternatives. The VA Black Hills preferred alternative is to move most services out of Hot Springs.
Officials are now taking public comments on the draft and they’re planning a series of six public meetings around the area.
Sandra Horsman is the Director of the Black Hills VA. She says the agency wants to insure it’s providing the best care to veterans in the best environment at the right size and right scope.
“Want to make sure we’re giving them quality care in a state of the art environment, insuring that we’re providing the types of services that they need in that area,” says Horsman.
Sometimes when you're dealing with an agency you can give the agency the benefit of the doubt. With the VA you cannot do that.
The proposal has received stiff opposition from many local residents of Hot Springs who formed the Save the VA Committee and put forward their own proposal in the Draft EIS. The state’s congressional delegation has voiced opposition to the proposed move. U.S. Senator Mike Rounds says public comments and careful scrutiny of this proposal are crucial.
“I encourage everybody who has worked so hard to keep the VA hospital open not to give up but to stay actively engaged during this 60 day comment period,” says Rounds.
Rounds says he’s lost trust in VA officials.
“Sometimes when you’re dealing with an agency you can give the agency the benefit of the doubt. With the VA you cannot do that. Time and again we continue to find the VA has not been efficient in delivery of services they have not treated their primary care folks appropriately. They have waited billions of dollars in construction activities and when it comes right down to efficiency they are the epitome of non-efficiency. So to simply accept their position that they know better than the rest of us about how veterans should be taken care of in rural areas is wrong,” says Rounds.
VA officials say they will take into account all comments made at the public meetings and those submitted in writing before issuing their final decision. The VA is accepting public comments though January 5th.
The Draft EIS is available here.
VA officials say six public meetings summarizing the results of the Draft EIS are planned in Rapid City, SD; Hot Springs, SD; Pine Ridge, SD; Chadron, NE; Alliance, NE; and Scottsbluff, NE. The dates, times are being posted online at www.blackhills.va.gov/vablackhillsfuture/.