Following Tester Efforts, Hamilton to Receive New and Improved Veterans Health Clinic

Senator was the only member of the Montana delegation to vote in favor of funding for new, modern clinic to better serve southwest Montana veterans and VA staff

Hamilton, Montana will receive a new veterans clinic following sustained efforts from U.S. Senator Tester, the Senator announced today. As Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tester was the only member of the Montana congressional delegation to vote in support of funding for this new facility in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2022. Earlier this year, he also called on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough to speed up the delivery of new facilities in Montana, including in Hamilton, to better serve Montana veterans and clinic staff.

The new Hamilton clinic will be more than 7,000 square feet—five times the size of the existing clinic—and will offer a range of services including primary care, women’s health, outpatient mental health therapy, laboratory, and telehealth services. VA estimates the new clinic will deliver services to an additional 700 veterans.

“This is good news for Hamilton-area veterans who can look forward to a brand-new, state-of-the-art clinic to access the VA care and benefits they earned right here at home,” said Tester. “I’m proud to have helped secure this new facility as part of my ongoing push to expand veterans’ access to health care across Montana, and I’ll be working closely with the community and VA to ensure this project stays on track.”

As the only member of the Montana delegation who sits on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Tester has led the way in expanding veterans’ access to care in Montana—securing resources to build new and modernized facilities across the state. Through years of focused work with multiple Administrations of both parties, and working across the aisle in Washington and with communities across Montana, Tester’s efforts resulted in new facilities opening in several areas including eight that opened in the last three years in Fort Harrison in Helena, Missoula, Miles City, Bozeman, Great Falls, Havre, and two in Butte.

Continuing his push to strengthen and expand VA infrastructure in Montana and across the country, Tester recently introduced the Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver (BUILD) for Veterans Act of 2022—legislation to modernize the delivery of medical facilities and other infrastructure projects at VA. Tester also fought to secure provisions to strengthen and expand veterans’ health care infrastructure in the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act, which President Biden signed into law on August 10.