Not only does the new clinic boast more room to work, but it also will provide expansive services to the veteran community, like audiology.
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The VA says it plans to hire more providers, which would result in shorter wait times.
“The people that we are so very fortunate to take care of here deserve our greatest and best as a country, and I think this building epitomizes that to a tee,” said Dayton VA Health System Associate Director Caleb Cobane.
Cobane said the clinic was modeled after the award-winning outpatient clinic in Richmond, Indiana, which focuses on ‘patient-centered design.’
For example, all of the exam rooms are separated into hallways that are specifically aligned for what type of care the veteran needs. That means less shuffling of patients from room-to-room during their visits.
“That’s reflected in every hallway, every room — it’s about keeping the veteran at the front and focus of our care,” he said.
The VA says the growing Clark County veteran population outgrew the former clinic located in a shopping center on South Burnett Road, which was the home of veteran care in the area for just over 20 years.
According to statistics provided by the VA, from Oct. 2017 to Oct. 2018 the Burnett Road clinic served 3,600 veterans which equated to about 21,000 appointments.
U.S. Army veteran Myra Gaskins said it was “a great day for the city of Springfield” after taking a tour of the new facility.
She said she’s looking forward to the mental health accommodations that the clinic will be able to offer to her and her fellow veterans.
PHOTO GALLERY: New VA Outpatient Clinic in Springfield
She plans on volunteering at the new clinic as soon as it officially opens for services.
“A lot of the people that were suffering from mental health had to go all the way to the Dayton VA,” she said.
While everything inside the clinic is state-of-the-art, there is a special piece that has a deeper meaning.
A time capsule was placed in the lobby of the clinic, filled with veterans’ memorabilia that was collected over the last several months by Jerry Ferrell, of the Veterans Stakeholder Committee in Springfield.
The capsule will be opened 20 years from now — the same amount of time the former clinic served the Clark County community.
The VA says all medical records will be seamlessly transferred to the new clinic.
If veterans have appointments prior to Tuesday, they should go to the Burnett Road clinic.
The North Limestone clinic officially opens to the veteran community on Tuesday.
12,500 —Sq. ft. of new VA clinic
4,000 — Approximate number of veterans served at former clinic
10% — Increase in space compared to former clinic
20 — Years former clinic had been serving Clark County veterans
The News-Sun has kept readers up to speed on the latest developments regarding Springfield’s new VA outpatient clinic since the site was announced in Oct. 2018.
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