Sen. Mark Begich and a panel from Washington, D.C., spoke Monday with nearly 40 members of the Fairbanks community at the Alaska Veterans Summit at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

“We have to do better,” Begich said in regard to providing accessible health care to veterans in rural communities in Alaska. He expressed his desire to keep Alaskan VA health care in Alaska.

Fairbanks has 4,900 veterans enrolled in VA health care.

Begich, D-Alaska, spoke about establishing broadband connections helping to connect 100 villages around Bethel and Cordova, making health care more accessible through telemedicine, so veterans can access health care such as seeing a psychologist in the privacy of their own homes.