Comment Period on va Hospital Study Extended Through Feb. 5

HOT SPRINGS, S.D. (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs has extended the public comment period on a study that looks at the impact that closing a Hot Springs hospital would have on veterans.

The public will now have until Feb. 5 to comment on the study. The extension comes after South Dakota's congressional delegation sent a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald asking the agency to give people more time.

VA officials have proposed shuttering the historic Battle Mountain Sanitarium, transitioning long-term care services to Rapid City and leaving only an outpatient clinic in Hot Springs. Veterans have vehemently opposed this proposal.

The study released last month showed the VA's proposal would have an estimated 30-year cost of over $148.5 million.

The public comment period was originally scheduled to end in early January.

Source: Comment Period on va Hospital Study Extended Through Feb. 5