The VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System recently announced the initiation of a program that officials hope will significantly improve cancer care for veterans in Colorado Springs.

Thanks to a $525,000 grant from the VA's Close to Me program, the PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom Clinic is scheduled to begin providing infusion care beginning in the spring of 2025, officials said in a news release.

Targeted infusion care, which includes chemotherapy, can take several hours and may require up to three medical appointments per week, according to Aaron Nisley, chief strategy officer for VA Eastern Colorado.

"We have identified some health care services where we have trouble keeping up with demand," Nisley said. "In Colorado Springs, infusion care happens to be one of those services."

There are currently about 94,000 veterans currently living in El Paso County, and VA officials expect that number to increase as the Colorado Springs population continues to grow. Some of those veterans will likely need the kind of care that the Close to Me program is helping provide, Nisley said.

"We are expecting a projected growth in veteran enrollment, in the Colorado Springs area, of almost 20% over the next 10 years," he said.

"Our current veteran population is aging, and with age people become more susceptible to diseases like cancer. There's a significant need for infusion services in the Springs, so we saw a gap that needs to be addressed."

The Close to Me grant will allow the Floyd K. Lindstrom Clinic to hire two registered nurses, a pharmacy technician and a cancer care specialist for two years. The Lindstrom clinic currently does not have an oncology staff.

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More than 200 veterans are currently receiving some form of infusion care in southern Colorado, VA officials said. Some of them are required to travel to the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora for treatment. Having access to chemotherapy, immunotherapy and other infusion care can make it easier for patients to stick to their care plans, thereby increasing the chances for success.

"By meeting the gap we'll have a closer option for folks where they can have a care plan that's been prescribed for them by their clinician, and they will be more likely to follow through on that care plan," Nisley said.

An additional benefit to the program is continuity of care, which helps reduce delays and improve patient satisfaction, said VA spokeswoman Janelle Beswick.

"When you have continuity of care, all your records are in one place, your doctors are talking to each other," Beswick said. "If we can provide that, it means that our veterans have one point of service."

"Sometimes you see delays when there are multiple providers who aren't part of the same health care system," Nisley said. "The Close to Me program should help keep the number of providers to a minimum."

Since the Close to Me program's 2021 inception, nearly 500 veterans across the U.S. have been able to receive care closer to home, reducing travel by more than 200,000 miles, according to the news release. The program boasts a 99% treatment adherence rate, which means nearly all Close to Me patients are adhering to their prescribed cancer care plans.

"Veterans who need anti-cancer therapy are already going through one of the hardest times of their lives," said Christiane Thienelt, acting chief of oncology. "Local treatment in Colorado Springs will reduce the strain of traveling for this care."