Bucktail Medical Center Seeks VA Services Locally


by Barbara Mastriania

SOUTH RENOVO – U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Howard,  during a recent Renovo visit, said he has connected Bucktail Medical Center with the Veterans Administration to pursue the possibility of providing some veterans services at the South Renovo facility.

If some services were available at Bucktail it would save veterans the long commutes to Altoona, Wilkes Barre and other VA centers, he said. “It should be positive for the medical center.”
 The services are not yet available at Bucktail. “We’re working on it,” says the medical center administrator Tim Reeves, “there are a lot of issues.” 
 He said he’s met with officials who work with veteran’s affairs in Lock Haven and has discussed the possibility of providing some veterans services. He said the law has been passed, but not the specifics.

Reeves said Bucktail officials are working closely to get services for veterans as soon as they can. It’s an issue the medical center wants to pursue and it’s an issue that is important to many veterans in western Clinton County, both Thompson and Reeves said.
 It’s also important for the medical center, Thompson said, because the area doesn’t have the “mass to support it economically.”