WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today released the following statement after the VA’s announcement that it has reached an interim agreement to keep open the VA’s community-based outpatient clinic in Mt. Vernon, which was scheduled to close this month:

“This agreement to keep open the Mt. Vernon facility is a real victory for the many veterans who depend on it for quality, specialized care. The clinic is home to a variety of critical rehabilitative services, including treatment for traumatic brain injuries, and I’m pleased the VA has taken action to keep those services in Mt. Vernon. I’ll continue working with the VA and with area providers to ensure these services remain in southwest Missouri as long as they are needed, so our veterans can continue to receive the high quality care they deserve.”

The agreement extends the VA clinic’s contract with the Missouri Rehab Center until the end of the year, and the VA plans to extend that contract for the next three years, until the completion of a new clinic in Springfield.

In August, McCaskill, the daughter of a World War II veteran, visited John J. Pershing Medical Center in Poplar Bluff and the VA’s Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in West Plains to hear directly from area veterans and VA administrators, and announce the expansion of her veterans’ customer satisfaction survey to the southeast Missouri region.

McCaskill launched her Veterans’ Customer Satisfaction Program (VCSP), a confidential survey, to give Missouri veterans an opportunity to offer direct, confidential feedback on the quality of service they receive at their local VA facility. Nearly 1,000 Missouri veterans participated in this year’s surveys, and the program is in its fourth year. The survey is now active in four regions: St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, and Poplar Bluff.