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El Paso VA says operations 'full steam ahead,' cites outreach approvals and new clinic projects
Summary
Interim director Mark Riello told the El Paso City Veterans Advisory Committee that clinical services are continuing, outreach events through March have approval, and construction on a new Health Care Center is proceeding; he said some non‑clinical community presentations are awaiting higher‑level approvals from VA leadership.
Mark Riello, interim director of the El Paso VA Healthcare System, told the El Paso City Veterans Advisory Committee that “operations are normal at the El Paso VA Healthcare System. We are full steam ahead in serving our veterans.” Riello said the VA is continuing scheduled outreach events that have received approval and that clinical services remain available while some community presentations require further sign‑off from national VA leadership.
The VA has cleared several events through March, Riello said, including a Women PACT Act registration event March 15 at the West Rec Center and an eligibility outreach event Feb. 28 at a congressional office. He said the VA will participate in the Borderplex Veterans and Family Caregiver Expo and other community outreach efforts. “We are still full steam ahead with all of the veterans that do want us, use us,” Riello said, urging veterans to enroll so benefits and records are on file.
Riello described local clinical capacity and programs available to veterans. He promoted the system’s Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner program — pharmacists licensed to manage specified chronic conditions — and said veterans calling (915) 564‑6100 and pressing option 2 can often get a CPP appointment quickly. He also said behavioral‑health and women’s‑health clinical programs remain in place: “We have not gotten any guidance at this point to reduce any of that type of care.”
On facilities, Riello said construction is proceeding on a new Health Care Center adjacent to William Beaumont: steel should begin going up in March, and the project remains on schedule. He also said the VA is pursuing a new women’s health clinic and expansion of urgent care on the city’s East Side and a community‑based outpatient clinic in Horizon City; he added there has been no indication the funding for those projects has changed.
Committee members raised concerns about outreach approvals and mental‑health services. A committee member asked whether it was taking longer to approve staff presentations in the community; Riello said face‑to‑face clinical care requests have been approved more quickly than requests for staff to give talks, which must be cleared through higher levels in Washington. He also acknowledged community questions about changes to diversity‑related optics and said the VA had removed some visual materials to comply with administrative direction but had not been instructed to remove clinical services.
The director asked the committee to alert him to reports of gaps in hospice or end‑of‑life care. “I did hear about some, maybe a gap in, the hospice care. Please reach out to me on that,” Riello said.
Why it matters: The update outlines how the El Paso VA plans to sustain clinical care and expand access while navigating new administrative review processes for outreach. Committee members left the briefing with dates and contact points for outreach events and with a request that the VA continue reporting on any service or access gaps.
The committee did not take any formal votes during Riello’s update. No legislative or regulatory citations were raised as binding constraints beyond general references to executive orders and national VA direction.
