State House Votes To Close Talihina Veterans Center

The state House has passed a bill that would move the Veteran's Administration Center out of Talihina.

The bill, which passed 57 to 33, authorizes the Oklahoma VA to build a new medical center that would eventually replace the one in Talihina.

There have been a couple of high profile deaths at that facility in recent years. 

9/6/2017 Related Story: Oklahoma VA Centers Working To Improve Services

In the fall of 2016, 73-year-old Vietnam veteran Owen Peterson died of sepsis at the Talihina Veterans Center after maggots were found in his body.

Four months later, 70-year-old Leonard Smith, another Vietnam vet, died by choking on a plastic bag in his throat - also at Talihina.