Recognizing that many veterans live far away from major centers and clinics, the Department of Veterans Affairs took steps to ensure they would receive the care and benefits they earned while in uniform. On Feb. 20, VA Secretary James B. Peake announced the formation of an advisory panel on rural health, which would provide the department’s senior leaders with input and advice on providing care for rural veterans. The action is one more step in a continuing series, which includes opening more clinics in rural areas and creating better avenues of coordination among the VA, state and local providers, and veterans’ service organizations.
