Rep. Pettersen Urges Veterans Affairs Head To Prioritize Fremont County Clinic

By Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline

April 20, 2023

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen wrote to the secretary of Veterans Affairs urging him to prioritize the creation of a VA clinic with additional medical personnel in Fremont County.

In the letter to Secretary Denis McDonough, Pettersen estimated almost 5,000 veterans living across Fremont County are “in desperate need for additional health care assistance.” The rural county currently has no clinic for veterans, and one isn’t scheduled to open until 2025 with one care team.

Pettersen shared her concern that larger clinics in Aurora and Castle Rock are being prioritized over the Fremont County clinic, where resources for veterans are less easily accessible.

“These two facilities are larger and require more staff time to complete, which prevents any work from beginning on the strategic plan for Fremont VA Clinic,” Pettersen said in the letter. “It is my understanding that these delays prevent the VA from finalizing work on the Fremont VA Clinic, preventing it from opening sooner than Fiscal Year 2025.”

About 3,500 veterans live in Florence or Cañon City, and Pettersen argues a second primary care team is necessary to provide adequate care to the thousands of veterans across the county. She heard these concerns from local officials and veterans while visiting the area earlier this year.

In 2022, Colorado’s Office of the State Auditor found the state is failing to provide adequate care and support to its veterans' service program.

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