Veterans living in rural parts of America, not close to a major VA hospital, travel great distances to receive their health care.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as of 2021, approximately 4.6 million Veterans out of 19 million reside in rural communities across the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

For those Veterans, getting care often means hours on the road, possibly even an overnight stay.

However, the Fargo VA Health Care System is always striving to improve access to health care and help Veterans in rural areas and communities. One program that’s working to close that gap is the Mobile Prosthetic and Orthotic Care program.  

MoPOC offers mobility by bringing cutting-edge, accessible prosthetic and orthotic services to Veterans in rural areas.      

“About 2 1/2 years ago, we [Fargo VAHCS] applied for a MoPOC clinic to address the needs of our veterans in rural areas and in areas where they could not get to see a vendor or the vendors weren’t able to reach them,” said Carol Grettum, CP, CPed Supervisory Orthotist-Prosthetist.

The first Fargo VAHCS MoPOC van hit the road in June 2023, last year and started seeing Veterans for their prosthetic and/or orthotic needs. Grettum said they started seeing Veterans at Grand Forks, N.D. Shortly after, they expanded to two more CBOC’s. Since then, the MoPOC program has been busy.

In general, we also can see a person in their home, but we do so much business right now with the community-based outpatient care clinics that we haven’t done much in the home. But we do have a process for that too we provide,” said Grettum.

Fargo VAHCS qualified for the MoPOC program because they’re in an area with a high rurality rate. To qualify, a VAHCS needs to be 50 percent or above. 

“We go to Grand Forks. Fergus Falls, Jamestown and Bemidji. You know our average rurality is about 95 to 96 percent,” said Grettum. 

The only reason the rurality is not 100 percent is because Grand Forks is considered a small community or not rural.

One MoPOC success story involves a Veteran seen in June, 2024. The Veteran lived 40 minutes from the Grand Forks CBOC and had been previously seen by a vendor in the community for custom shoes. The MoPOC clinician evaluated the patient and was able to offer the Veteran a different option for his shoes. 

“So that was good. But also, during the course of the conversation we asked the Veteran about his hand. ‘Tell me about your fingers. Has anyone talked to you about partial hands.’” said Grettum. 

The Veteran was missing three to four fingers from each hand and wasn’t aware of helping partial hand prosthetics. 

“Consequently, he was seen in our amputee clinic and we were able to make him a partial hand prosthesis. These devices allow him to open a bottle, write, and open a door easier than before,” said Grettum.

Overall, the goal for the MoPOC program is to provide orthotic and prosthetic care to Veterans in rural areas and at their local CBOCs. Additionally, MoPOC averages a 48 percent savings, compared to community care, and Veterans have reported satisfaction in their care and trust in the VA.”

For more information, call the Fargo VA Public Affairs Office at (701) 239-3724.