The Park Rapids Enterprise reports…

The Hubbard County Veteran Services Office (VSO) is only the second in Minnesota to offer telehealth appointments to local veterans.

Assistant Veteran Services Officer Darius Simon told the county board on Tuesday, “With the recent COVID-19, our hours have been a little crazy at the office. We’ve been working from home, but it’s also affected our veterans in general.”

Telehealth allows veterans to have medical appointments at the VSO, Simon explained. “So they can do telehealth medicine to, say, a therapist in Colorado or their pharmacist in Fargo.”

Through the Fargo VA Medical Center, Simon acquired an iPad with cellular and video capabilities.

“That was free of charge,” noted County VSO Jerry Bjerke. …

“You have the option of coming to our office, which is maybe 10 minutes away, or a two-hour drive there and back,” he said. “Especially in the winter time, it gets a little stressful, so we see this as a positive. … It’s a big deal. We’re pretty happy.”