Bergman's Bill to Honor Navy Corpsman Steve Andrews Passes House

Today, H.R. 1281 unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation, which Rep. Bergman introduced, will name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) in Gaylord, Michigan, as the ‘Navy Corpsman Steve Andrews Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Clinic." The bill will now head to the Senate for consideration.

Working together with Andrews' family and friends, Rep. Bergman successfully garnered the support of Michigan veteran service organization chapters and the entire Michigan Congressional Delegation to prepare this CBOC designation for House approval.

Prior to the passage of the bill, Rep. Bergman spoke on the House Floor. You can hear the full speech here.

The Gaylord CBOC is located at 2782 S. Otsego Avenue, Gaylord, Michigan and opened in Summer 2020. The 18,362 square foot CBOC provides outpatient primary care, mental health, telehealth, laboratory services, home-based primary care, women’s health and whole health.

Background info:

Steve Andrews (October 15, 1949 ~ January 28, 2017) entered the U.S. Navy in 1967 as a Hospital Corpsman then subsequently served at the U.S. Naval Hospital on Guam and as a medic with the 1st Marine Division and Marine 1st Force Reconnaissance Company in Vietnam. For his actions in combat in Vietnam and for saving the lives of countless Marines, he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and received the Purple Heart.

Following his military service, Steve worked as an entrepreneur and was later elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, representing Northern Michigan's 106th District. Steve served Northern Michigan for two terms and then turned his efforts to building his family and business. Steve coached and was a father figure to thousands of kids in baseball, football and more. He additionally served on the board of trustees of North Central Michigan College and was president of the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce.