Veterans Urge More VSO Support and Medical Transportation

The Nevada Department of Veterans Services is holding a series of Veteran Community Roundtable events this month, with sessions in Las Vegas, Mesquite and Pahrump. The Pahrump meeting drew veterans and family members who identified immediate local needs, focused primarily on expanded Veteran Service Officer support and transportation to medical appointments.

Attendees in Pahrump emphasized the need for more volunteer drivers to assist veterans who must travel for care, and they requested a stronger VSO presence to help navigate benefits and appeals. Those concerns reflect persistent access challenges for veterans in communities outside urban centers, where distance and limited public transit can complicate trips to VA facilities and medical providers.

NDVS said it will plan follow up roundtables and additional outreach to address the concerns raised in each community. The agency’s commitment to continued engagement creates an opportunity to translate community input into tangible next steps, including options for recruiting volunteer drivers, expanding outreach by VSOs, and coordinating with local governments and nonprofit partners to fill service gaps.

For Nye County the policy implications are concrete. A sustained VSO presence or more robust travel assistance could change how veterans access benefits and care, and would require coordination across state and county agencies, volunteer organizations, and health providers. Decisions about staffing, funding, and volunteer recruitment will influence how quickly local requests are addressed and how broadly services can be scaled.

The roundtable process itself is a form of civic engagement, giving veterans a direct channel to raise operational concerns with state officials. How NDVS follows up, and how quickly county and community partners respond, will determine whether the meeting moves from discussion to action. Officials have signaled plans for further meetings and outreach, leaving the next phase focused on converting those commitments into concrete programs for Pahrump and other Nevada communities.