The Veterans Administration is scrambling to assist some 900 veterans in northernwestern Wisconsin, after a private firm closed a pair of outpatient clinics. The V.A. clinics in Rice Lake and Hayward closed without notice Monday, just six months after opening. Ralph Huessner with the V.A. in the Twin Cities explains the clinics were operated under contract by a Kentucky firm.
Huessner says the V.A. had been in negotiations with Corporate Health and Wellness. He says the company made the decision to close the clinics without first notifying patients or the V.A. The V.A. is exploring various options to provide care in Rice Lake and Hayward. In the meantime, veterans are once again facing car trips to Chippewa Falls or Minneapolis.
