Michaud included program in 2008 bill so Maine veterans could receive health care closer to home

WASHINGTON, DC – A program that Congressman Mike Michaud passed into law in 2008 to help veterans in rural states like Maine is about to come full circle. Michaud, the Ranking Member of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, praised today’s announcement by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that Cary Medical Center in Caribou will be the health care provider for its new pilot program called “Project ARCH” (Access Received Closer to Home), which will provide health care services locally to  area veterans.

“I’m pleased this program will finally begin to help veterans in northern Maine get the care they need closer to home,” said Michaud, who has been pushing the VA to implement this program since it was first passed into law in October of 2008. “For too long our veterans have struggled with the unacceptably long drives to Togus or Boston. It’s my hope that this pilot will be expanded after the VA sees how important getting care locally is for these Maine veterans.”

Michaud included this pilot program in a bill he worked to pass into law in 2008 called the “Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act.” Details on Project ARCH, which Michaud announced in September of last year, can be found here.

According to the VA, the VA Maine Healthcare System in Togus will oversee Cary Medical Center’s activities through a rigorous monitoring program that tracks measures of clinical and administrative performance. VA expects that Cary Medical Center will require up to 60 days to complete its preparations in order to provide health care services to eligible veterans.

For additional information about Project ARCH or for information on program eligibility, Mainers are encouraged to contact Ryan Lilly at Ryan.Lilly@va.gov or 207-623-8411.