Expanded VA Orthotics Services Coming to Bloomington, Decatur VA Clinics
PRESS RELEASE
September 5, 2023
Danville , IL — Veterans across Central Illinois will soon have access to VA Illiana Health Care System’s orthotics services closer to home thanks to a service expansion bringing orthotics care to VA Illiana’s Bloomington and Decatur Clinics beginning September 2023.
The first appointments of this expansion will be held Sept. 6, 2023, at the Decatur VA Clinic, with the Bloomington VA Clinic’s first orthotics clinic scheduled for Sept. 11, 2023. Thereafter, the Decatur VA Clinic will hold orthotics clinics on the first, third, and fifth Wednesdays of every month. The Bloomington VA Clinic will offer orthotics services every Monday.
Orthotics professionals provide Veterans with devices fitted externally to an anatomical portion of the body for protection and to assist, resist, or block specific body motions. Veterans can work with their care team and the orthotics clinic to determine if orthoses such as diabetic shoes and inserts, orthopedic shoes and inserts, knee, arm, ankle and back braces, or walking boots could be right for them. Thanks to this expansion of care, Veterans can access these life-changing devices closer to home and without the need for a referral outside VA.
“We’re proud to expand orthotics services as part of our ongoing commitment to accessible, excellent care,” said Amanda Secrist, a licensed practical nurse, Certified Orthotic Fitter, and VA Illiana’s orthotics lead. “In addition to providing Veterans with the services they have earned at a more convenient location, we will often be able to provide services sooner. We undertook this expansion guided by Veteran feedback and will continue to evaluate the need for further growth based on Veteran needs.”
VA Illiana’s Orthotics and Prosthetics Service is staffed by four clinicians, with one orthotist/prosthetist and one orthotics fitter based in Peoria and one orthotist/prosthetist and one orthotics fitter based in Danville. Thanks to flexible scheduling and teamwork, these team members will continue providing the same quality care at their base locations while traveling to provide the most convenient and efficient care to Veterans.