Dayton VA needs more space for Indiana clinic, agency says

The Dayton VA Medical Center wants to double the size of a Richmond, Ind., satellite clinic that could mean relocating the medical facility to an existing building near local highways, according to a VA spokeswoman.

The VA hopes to lease a 12,000-square-foot building with more parking spaces in place of a 6,260-square-foot facility that’s “bursting out at the seams,” Dayton VA spokeswoman Kimberly D. Frisco said.

“The space is very tight,” Frisco said Thursday. “We really need to double our space.”

More space would allow a bigger lobby and waiting room, a tele-health video conference room for patient interaction with Dayton VA medical staff, improve patient privacy, provide nursing interview rooms, and open space for electronic medical check-in stations, among other plans.

The agency wants to find a site near Interstate 70 and U.S. highways 40 and 27. The clinic serves veterans in Preble and Darke counties in Ohio and also Wayne, Fayette and Randolph counties in Indiana.

The VA did not provide a cost estimate for the plans. Frisco said the agency has not received contractors’ bids to determine the cost of a lease. The VA said the expense must be a “fair rental value” for the market. The lease would be awarded by Aug. 30.

Depending on needs, the federal health care agency could add more nursing staff to the clinic, the VA said.

The clinic, which opened in 2000, has had a rise in veterans seeking treatment: The number of people enrolled in the clinic program jumped slightly to 7,484 this year from 7,394 last year, department figures show.

The clinic provides primary care, dietary, optometry, podiatry and outpatient mental health services, and home-based primary care.

The Dayton VA has satellite clinics in Ohio in Springfield, Middletown and Lima.

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