VA Laredo outpatient clinic schedules donation walk, clarifies appointments and travel-voucher rules

Crystal Cavito, a representative of the Laredo VA outpatient clinic, told the Laredo Veterans Committee on May 13, 2025, that the clinic will host a donation-driven two-mile walk to raise supplies for its homeless program and described procedural changes intended to preserve full provider appointment time for veterans.

The announcement matters because it affects veterans who use the clinic for primary and specialty care and those who rely on travel vouchers and clinic transportation services.

Cavito said the walk will circle the clinic twice; organizers are seeking donations of king-size sheets, mattresses, furniture, dishes and pots and pans, or monetary gifts via a QR code on the flyer. "If you have a group that you would like to do the 2 mile walk, just come back from 9 to 12, and we'll be outside the facility, and we'll do that walk," she said. The flyer as read at the meeting listed the "first walk" at 9 a.m.; the month on that flyer was not specified during the announcement.

Cavito also described a new 15-minute nursing appointment that will occur before a veteran's regular visit so the scheduled 30 minutes with a provider will not be reduced because of intake tasks. "What this is is when you go in, if you know that you have 30 minutes with your provider ... we're doing another appointment before your regular appointment for 15 minutes that doesn't take away from those 30 minutes," she said.

On administrative issues, Cavito said the clinic is short staffed in several areas. She reported the travel-claims office is behind "about 60 days" and urged veterans to submit travel claims digitally rather than by paper for faster processing. She also warned veterans to confirm vouchers remain active before traveling: "Please make sure prior to you going to your appointments that the vouchers are still active," she said.

Cavito summarized the clinic's rule on travel reimbursements: the VA will generally pay travel only to the nearest facility offering the needed service. She said, "If you have dermatology, and we have a dermatology in Laredo, and you wanna go to San Antonio or you wanna go to Corpus, we will only pay to Laredo because we have a dermatology here." She added the clinic may authorize travel to a farther facility if the local clinic cannot provide an appointment within about 90 days; in that case staff will annotate that traveling farther is necessary because of wait times.

Cavito noted other items: the clinic's "Ask the Lawyer" event is scheduled for May 22 and the clinic is interviewing to replace a TDC personnel position. She invited veterans to contact the outpatient clinic for flyers and donation drop-off instructions.

The committee did not take a formal vote on these announcements; Cavito's remarks were delivered as informational items during the meeting.