Congressman Gonzalez Calls on the VA to Build Hospital in the Rio Grande Valley
Urges VA Secretary to Expand Veterans’ Access to Healthcare in South Texas
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis R. McDonough, emphasizing the need for a VA hospital in the Rio Grande Valley to better serve South Texas residents. The letter states:
“South Texas is a medically underserved region. According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, the Rio Grande Valley is projected to have the state’s greatest percentage of unmet demand for nurses and a severe shortage of physicians by 2032. The fact is — the infrastructure is not in place to demand more on community providers by also taking on the patient load of our veterans. The VA needs to help our veterans and meet the demands of our region, which has been overlooked for far too long."
South Texas veterans need equitable access to medical services. Currently, those needing VA medical care need to either travel 300 miles to the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, for the nearest VA hospital or visit local health care centers which are limited in the services they can provide.
Read the full letter here.
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