Newsroom

Congressman Mike Thompson hosted local veterans leaders and Department of Veterans Affairs officials at a Monday roundtable in an effort to find out how the agency can be improved to better serve its veteran clients, including the thousands of veterans who reside in Lake County.

The meeting took place on the same day that Thompson's office announced that he had secured commitments from the VA that it will make improvements at the VA Oakland Regional Office, one of the slowest regional offices in the nation for claims processing.

Community Health Clinic Ole has received a $175,000 grant through the Affordable Care Act, according to Rep. Mike Thompson's office.

The money will be used to upgrade the clinic's Calistoga facility, which provides nearly 600 medical and dental visits each month.

“Our staff there has been working with an antiquated phone system and hand-me-down computers and dental equipment and without a dedicated computer server since 1999,” said Tanir Ami, CEO of Clinic Ole.

Ami said updating the site will help improve the quality of care provided to patients.

Congressman Mike Thompson announced this week that the Open Door Community Health Centers in Arcata is receiving a $484,512 grant from the government.

According to a press release, the funds will allow the health center to expand its facilities, improve existing services and serve more patients. The awards are part of a series of capital investments made available through the Affordable Care Act. The nationwide grants will help expand access to health care to an additional 860,000 patients.

Three Sonoma County health clinics will receive more than $8 million in federal money to build facilities and improve services to uninsured and low-income patients in Sonoma County, including dental aid.

Santa Rosa Community Health Centers will get $2.8 million to open a new 13-chair dental clinic in Roseland next year.

Sonoma Valley Community Health Centers will receive $5 million toward a new facility in Boyes Hot Springs.