Leaders of local veterans groups have been invited to meet with Congressman Phil Roe and members of a national committee that advises the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on health care policy when the committee meets next week at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center.East Tennessee State University will hold an opening reception today, where veterans can meet Tennessee’s congressman for the 1st Congressional District and offer input to the National Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee on how the VA can best serve the health care needs of veterans in rural areas. The reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the ETSU History of Medicine Museum, located in the clock tower building on the VA Medical Center campus.

The National Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee was created in 2008 to evaluate VA programs in rural areas and identify barriers to health care. Bruce Behringer, ETSU’s associate vice president and executive director for Rural and Community Health and Community Partnerships in the Division of Health Sciences, is one of 13 members on the committee and the only representative from Tennessee. Committee members traveling from as far as Montana and North Dakota will attend the annual meeting, which will be held through March 3.

Behringer said committee members will discuss the new “medical home” concept to health care now being adopted by the VA. With the “medical home” model, VA medical centers are focusing on delivering care through organized teams of health professionals that will provide continuity and coordination in primary care settings, in the hospital and in the homes of veterans. Quillen VA Medical Center is among those VA centers that have already adopted the concept, and Behringer thinks it would benefit veterans and the VA system for other medical centers to follow suit. Charlene Ehret, VA medical center director, said, “It is an exciting time to be a part of a health care delivery system that has activated a model of care that benefits our veterans who live in rural communities.”

“The committee is also finalizing our recommendations to Secretary Shinseki regarding the VA strategy to expand access to care for veterans who live in rural areas of the country,” said Behringer, referring to Eric Shinseki, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. “We are very proud to be visiting the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center for this meeting and hope that the committee can talk with veterans from East Tennessee as part of the visit.

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