VA Partners With DOD to Boost Health Care Access in Tennessee and Kentucky

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is partnering with Department of Defense (DOD) to increase veteran access to VA health care in Tennessee and Kentucky. The agreement will allow veterans to receive care at the Fort Campbell VA Clinic inside the Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, which is located on Fort Campbell Army Installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

The partnership will allow veterans in Clarksville, Tennessee, and the Fort Campbell region to receive primary and mental health care from VA clinicians. The VA and DOD will also collaborate to add dental care, women’s health care, intensive care, and pain management specialty care for veterans at Fort Campbell Army base.

“We are thrilled with the announcement of this new partnership with the VA,” said Lester Martinez-Lopez, MD, the DOD’s assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. “Not only does it provide increased opportunities to care for those who have sacrificed so much for this country, but it helps our medical professionals maintain their readiness skills. It is a win-win for all those involved.”

The partnership is one of hundreds nationwide to improve access to care for veterans. Earlier this year, the VA and DOD partnered to increase surgical care access for veterans in Pensacola, Florida. In public-private collaborations, the VA has also recently partnered with Stanford University, Stanford, California, to build a cancer and research center in Palo Alto, California, and with Penn Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to expand health care access in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Fort Campbell and Clarksville areas have the largest and most rapidly growing veteran population in Tennessee, according to the VA. Through the PACT Act, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System plans to establish three new outpatient clinics by fiscal year 2027.

Reference

VA and DOD partner to increase primary and specialty health care access for Tennessee and Kentucky Veterans. News release. US Department of Veterans Affairs; February 22, 2024. Accessed February 29, 2024. https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-and-dod-partner-to-increase-primary-and-specialty-health-care-access-for-tennessee-and-kentucky-veterans/