Alabama VA Commissioner appointed to Veterans' Rural Health Advisory Committee |

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki has appointed Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner, retired Navy Rear Adm. Clyde Marsh, to the VA’s Veterans’ Rural Health Advisory Committee (VRHAC).

Created in 2008, VRHAC advises the Secretary on health care issues affecting rural veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system.  

As a member of VRHAC, Marsh and the 12-member committee will examine ways of improving health care services for veterans residing in rural areas through a combination of community based clinic expansion, increased partnership with non-VA rural providers, and increased use of telemedicine and information technology.
 
“I am honored to serve on this important committee with a charter of improving access and quality of care for veterans who live in geographically remote areas of the country,” said Marsh.  “Improving VA’s delivery of care through innovative practices is essential to meeting the needs of the nation’s growing veterans population in rural America.”  

According to the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Rural Health, about 3 million veterans enrolled in the VA Health Care System live in rural or highly rural areas of the country.  These veterans make up a disproportionate share of service members and comprise about 39% of the enrolled veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The VRHAC includes rural health experts in academia; state and federal rural health professionals; state-level VA officials; and leaders of veterans service organizations.  Committee members are appointed to a two-year term.

Marsh has served as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs since 2005 after retiring with 31 years of naval service.  Under his direction, the state VA provides services to Alabama’s more than 420,000 veterans including compensation and pension benefits, educational assistance, and long-term care through the department’s veterans home program. 

Source:  Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs