RAPID CITY, SD (KOTA) – For the first time since COVID, the Pine Ridge VA Wellness Center is officially welcoming in-person visits again.
The clinic was opened in recent years with telemedicine modalities.
“But we now have the staffing to allow in-person visits again, and that’s what our veterans want,” said Dr. Brian Bowers, chief of staff of Black Hills Veterans Affairs.
Access to healthcare is critical in rural areas, and before the Pine Ridge VA reopened, veterans had to travel to Hot Springs for treatment.
“So the key is access. A veteran needs to feel connected and have access to all the services they’ve earned. I want to reiterate that: They’ve earned it,” said Dr. Christie Prairie Chicken, director of the Office of Tribal Health.
“From what I understand, some of the difficulties were simply the distance, the cost of gas or even the availability of transportation,” said Gaddiel Rios, deputy chief of staff for the Black Hills Department of Veterans Affairs.
Prairie Chicken explained that the Indian Health Service (IHS) operates clinics in rural communities, allowing the VA to work with the IHS to expand access to health care.
“We’re also working with IHS and starting something called a ‘clinic within a clinic.’ They’ve given us some space there so we can actually set up a VA clinic at IHS,” Prairie Chicken said.
Basil Braveheart, a spiritual leader and veteran, spoke about the power of coming together and supporting one another.
“It’s what you don’t see that supports what you do see,” Braveheart said.
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