VA Secretary Discusses Future of Livermore Facility
Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi on Thursday said that he will not close the VA medical center in Livermore unless he is "absolutely convinced" that it is the correct decision, the Contra Costa Times reports. After touring the VA Northern California Health Care System's Martinez campus, Principi said that he would not commit to the final outcome for the center, which in July was put on the list of seven VA medical centers proposed to be closed nationwide (Metinko, Contra Costa Times, 10/31). Under restructuring plans, 80 of the Livermore facility's nursing home beds would be moved to a hospital in Menlo Park, and the other 40 beds would be contracted to private medical centers in the Central Valley. Specialty clinics would move to the Central Valley, and some primary and specialty clinics could be relocated to the Fremont-Hayward-Pleasanton area (California Healthline, 8/7). Principi said, "There is a commission, whose opinion I trust, looking into [the decision] right now. ... I will hear the recommendation and decide." Principi said that he expects the commission's recommendations by December (Contra Costa Times, 10/31).
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