The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs administers the hugely successful U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) Highly Rural Transportation Grant Program within our state. The grant program involves a federal, state and local partnership that addresses the ongoing health care transportation needs of veterans who live in highly rural areas. The program reached a major milestone recently, logging more than 2 million miles of free rides to Oregon veterans.
That’s more than the distance of traveling around the circumference of the earth 80 times.
Veterans who are served by this program did not travel around the world, but they were transported to VA medical centers and VA community-based outpatient clinics in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and California. These veterans live in remote areas with minimal medical facilities and challenging driving conditions; for many of these veterans, their isolation causes unique barriers to receiving life-sustaining care for their health and well-being.