HILO, Hawai'i — The Big Island will have a new clinic to treat war veterans by mid-2006, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka announced amid concerns that Hawai'i needs to better prepare itself to care for soldiers returning from the Middle East.

The news came as veterans on the Big Island complained about a lack of healthcare services to members of a U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, who held a hearing in Hilo on Friday.

The island recently lost its only program geared toward the treatment of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. The program, which used to serve 830 patients in Hilo, was moved to Honolulu to provide better mental health services to veterans with both acute and chronic signs of the disease.

But VA officials said a new clinic will be set up on the Big Island because the current veterans' clinic in Kona is too small.

Katherine King, who has been diagnosed with the disorder, said she learned to deal with the disease while she was on O'ahu. That changed when she arrived on the Big Island, she said.

"The care I received on O'ahu was considerably more professional than what I have received here in Hilo," she said during testimony before a packed conference room of about 100 people.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, asked King how the relocation of the program was affecting her.

"I have no place to go to keep me safe from me at times," she answered. "Nighttimes are the worst, and I have no place to go."

VA officials explained that the program has not been eliminated, but simply moved to Honolulu because the lease on the facility in Hilo was about to jump from $585,000 to $700,000. They also pointed out that the new facility there will offer outpatient treatment, making the care more comprehensive.

Officials also noted that only about 25 percent of the 830 people who have been in the Hilo program were from the Big Island. There also were staffing problems, said Jonathan Perlin, the VA's undersecretary of health.

Army National Guard Sgt. Gregory Lum Ho Jr. said there were many useful programs offered to families during his unit's deployment to Afghanistan.

"When I would inquire if these same services would be provided to our families on the Big Island, the answer I got every time was always the same, 'Sorry. Only on O'ahu.' "

Dr. Kevin Kunz, a Kona doctor speaking on behalf of the Hawaii Society of Addiction Medicine, warned of an influx of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who will need treatment in the future.

Kunz also believes there are key facilities that don't exist on the Big Island. He said an inpatient substance abuse facility is essential to treating PTSD because those afflicted with it often self-medicate to relive the pain.

Friday's hearing was the last of four across the state this week. Gen. James Hastings, director of the VA's Pacific Island Health Care System, said the hearings were useful to improve what he called a good system. "I think, by and large, the veterans I've talked to have been very happy with the care they're getting from the clinics," Hastings said.

Akaka called VA healthcare among the best in the nation, but said improvements are needed.

"We're not finished," he said.