The Veterans Affairs rehabilitation program and outpatient clinic in Hot Springs are moving to Rapid City.
A decision by United States Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs, Robert McDonald, was announced Friday afternoon to close a major part of the facility and relocate.
South Dakota’s congressional delegation says they are deeply concerned by the V.A.’s decision in what they say was a flawed process.
Officials with the V.A. say they hope to renovate part of the Hot Springs Facility for outpatient services and dialysis.
Sandra Horsman is director of the V.A. Black Hills Healthcare System. She says moving services from Hot Springs is a difficult decision…
“It’s not an easy one, but I really think it’s the right thing to do for the veterans, to ensure that they get that high quality, safe care," Horsman says. "We’re going to take care of the employees too, we’ve promised that from the very beginning and we will hold to that promise that we’ll take care of our employees as well.”
The Hot Springs hospital is known in part for its Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment program, which is set to move to Rapid City.
Don Ackerman is with the Save the V.A. group in Hot Springs. Ackerman and that group oppose the transfer of services.
“Our golden hour, when we get sick, is going to be spent on our back on the way to Rapid City to die," Ackerman says. "It infuriates me, it upsets all the veterans for taking away our facility and they’re not going to give us anything in return. They’ve condemned us to death, is what they’ve done. All the veterans in Nebraska, etc, because we’re not going to be able to find the healthcare we need.”
Ackerman says the more than five year debate over the future of the Hot Springs V.A. hospital is not over. He says Save the V.A. plans on working with the incoming Trump administration to keep programs where they’re at.
Existing law federal law prohibits the V.A. facility from moving services from Hot Springs to Rapid City. Officials with Veteran’s Affairs say once those requirements are met they expect the Rapid City operations will be up and running in three to five years.