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Senator Collins delivered remarks and participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program facility at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Togus Medical Center in Augusta. The facility will provide comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation services for veterans facing substance use disorder, as well as conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Prior to its completion, the State of Maine did not have a dedicated, long-term residential rehabilitation treatment center for veterans, requiring many to travel out of state for care through the VA. In addition, they faced an average wait time of 132 days to enter a long-term residential treatment program.
“Maine veterans will now be able to access care closer to home here in our state’s capital. I was honored to recognize the sacrifices of the men and women this center was built to support. Caring for our veterans, both their visible wounds and their hidden injuries, is part of our obligation to them for their service to our country.”
Senator Collins and the rest of the Maine congressional delegation pushed in 2019 for the VA to establish a long-term mental health and substance use disorder treatment center in Maine, prior to approval by the Department in 2020. In 2021, the Maine delegation again urged the VA to expedite construction of the Maine center and to include it on the Department’s Priority Projects list
