VA clinic will no longer be housed at PVHC

Posted 8/1/17

The successful bidder for the Basin’s new five-year contract was Valor Healthcare, based in the Dallas area, according to Terry Odom, chief executive officer for Powell Valley Healthcare.

“Community-based VA clinic is all they do,” Odom …

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VA clinic will no longer be housed at PVHC

Posted

Texas company wins bid for VA clinic contract

Powell Valley Healthcare lost its bid last week to continue hosting the Big Horn Basin’s VA Community Based Outreach Clinic. 

The successful bidder for the Basin’s new five-year contract was Valor Healthcare, based in the Dallas area, according to Terry Odom, chief executive officer for Powell Valley Healthcare.

“Community-based VA clinic is all they do,” Odom said. 

PVHC has provided medical care for veterans for 18 years through the community based clinic, which is co-located with Powell Valley Clinic. 

Odom said Veterans Affairs has indicated it wants to provide community outreach services for veterans through one specialty clinic, not in conjunction with family practice or any other specialty.

Valor Healthcare bills itself on its website as “the largest, most experienced contract provider of CBOCs [Community Based Outreach Clinics] in the country, currently operating over 30 clinics across the United States.”

“It looks like they’re going to start up an office in Cody,” Odom said.

Call and emails to Valor and the Veterans Affairs office were not returned as of press time on Monday.

Valor has until the end of September to get its clinic up and running, but Powell Valley’s contract is through Nov. 30, “so there will be some transition,” Odom said. 

“We’re going to send out a letter through all our primary care docs thanking them for their service” and informing them of the change, Odom said. 

Veterans who chose can use their medicare or insurance benefits to continue getting care from their doctors at Powell Valley Clinic, she said. 

Odom said she doesn’t know yet how the loss of the VA contract will affect Powell Valley Healthcare. 

“We’re exploring options,” she said. 

On the positive side, “It will open up access for family practice” for other patients, she said.

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