VA moving majority of primary care providers to satellite clinics across region
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A decision by Veterans Affairs leaders is causing some frustration.
It is moving the majority of its primary care providers from its facility in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood to several satellite clinics across the region.
Navy veteran Richard Dixon says when he got a letter from the VA, he figured it was an appointment reminder. When he read it, he was shocked.
"I received a letter about a week and a half ago," he said. "The letter stipulates that my primary care physician's office would be relocated."
The letter listed the H.J. Heinz campus with several other new locations in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, with the VA keeping its renal care team at the Oakland facility.
"For me, I'm further out in a way because there are no clinics on the western side of the city," he said.
Dixon said for vets who use public transportation, the relocations will result in longer and more expensive trips. Another issue for him is the timetable. The letter said vets need to contact the VA by March 3 to be assigned a new clinic.
"I don't think that was enough time," Dixon said.
