A staffing shortage at the VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Palestine has drawn the attention of Congressman Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas.  In a letter Monday to Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson, Hensarling expressed his concern over hearing complaints from veterans that the clinic was turning away some of its patients.

"My staff has been assured by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ congressional liaison that there are no plans to close the Palestine CBOC, but I would like to express my support for this center, as it provides valuable medical care to the veterans in my district," Hensarling said, and requested that the center be adequately staffed to handle its patients. "It is my hope that the Department will give due consideration to ensuring that the Palestine CBOC has the resources it needs to continue its strong record of service to East Texas."

The Palestine clinic, located at 2000 S. Loop 256, Suite 124, is one of 28 CBOCs and primary care clinics listed in Texas, according to the Texas Veterans Commission Web site. The VA also maintains 10 medical centers, 11 outpatient clinics and 13 veterans centers in the state.

Currently, the Palestine clinic has 3,236 veterans actively enrolled in its care, according to Paul Batterton, administrator for the VA facilities in Palestine, Waco and Brownwood. Batterton said Tuesday that the clinic has been forced to direct some of its patients to other VA medical facilities around the state after one of its physicians retired. The clinic normally uses two physicians and a physician’s assistant to attend to patients, according to Batterton.

"We have every intention of maintaining the clinic," Batterton said Tuesday afternoon. "It’s difficult to hire as quickly as we’d like to. It takes a lot of time to get done. We’ve had to reassign some patients." A possible replacement for the retiring physician is in the approval process, Batterton said. Approval to hire must come from a professional standards board, he added.