A new Somerset County program aims to improve health care access for veterans by connecting them with services and benefits that best fit their needs.

Many of Maine’s veterans access health care services at Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center at Togus in Augusta or at one of the nine VA clinics spread across the state. Ross Sirois, a veteran in Skowhegan and the program’s service coordinator, said he has opted for a local primary care provider instead.

“So instead of having to drive to Augusta and lose an hour and a half or more out of just drive time,” Sirois, 49, said, “I can drive 15 minutes to Skowhegan.”

Some veterans don’t know they have more than one option.

The Veterans Health Access Program aims to educate patients and providers about the locations, benefits and services veterans can use. The program, run through Somerset Public Health, a department of Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, has received $120,000 in federal funding through the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Leaders say that improving communication between community providers and VA officials would promote a community care-centered approach that covers more services veterans need.

“There’s so many different avenues for veterans to access care: The VA, traditional methods that everybody else has access to like community care, primary care,” said Matt L’Italien, director of Somerset Public Health. “And none of them talk to each other that well.”

“Veterans face all the challenges that everybody else faces navigating the health care system, with an overlay of trying to also figure out what benefits they have access to as veterans,” he said.

Almost 11% of Somerset County residents are veterans, compared to 7.6% in Maine and 6.1% nationally, according to U.S. Census data. The county is largely rural, and L’Italien said patients face issues like poverty and lack of access to transportation, housing and employment opportunities.

Some veterans rely solely on VA benefits, while others opt for private coverage through TRICARE — health care for military personnel and retirees — Medicaid, Medicare or another insurer. L’Italien said some providers in Maine are reluctant to accept TRICARE, which limits options for patients.

The program could improve their understanding of different types of benefits and teach them how to bill for services, he said.

Benefits also vary based on how long veterans have served, their financial situation coming out of service and whether they experience any physical or mental health conditions. Sirois, a veteran who served for more than 30 years, said military conflicts can cause different health conditions.

“An elder Vietnam-era veteran might have different needs than a Global War on Terrorism veteran,” Sirois said. “Every conflict, every war, every era, has its own standing issues.”

He said the program, which will include benefits counseling and peer-to-peer support groups, will help Somerset County veterans who have slipped through the cracks.

Sirois opted for private insurance decades ago because appointments at the VA could take all day. Now, he says it’s a benefit that care happens all in one visit, like getting an MRI downstairs at Togus rather than scheduling one for a week out.

But stories about long wait times carry weight among veterans and come to define providers. Leaders hope the program will encourage veterans to share those experiences, which can inform better health care systems and messaging.

“There are whole different avenues that need to be pursued with people, especially in rural areas,” Sirois said. “Every case is different when it comes to a veteran.”