A November opening date is the target for the new Terre Haute Veterans Affairs health clinic located on the city’s east side to bring healthcare services for area veterans under one roof.
About 80 staff members will be hired and trained to provide services to an anticipated client load of 8,000 to 10,000 veterans annually.
Hiring to fill the staff are being advertised through the USAJobs.com website.
“This is a significant investment in the community and in the veterans of the Wabash Valley,” said Julie Web, project manager for the VA.
The 46,000-square-foot facility was built at a cost of $40 million, using a “significant amount” of local materials and local labor force, Webb said.
In the past, a smaller clinic on the city’s south side provided some care, while other services were contracted to other providers. That will no longer be the case.
The new clinic will provide primary health care, expanded physical therapy, as well as the added services of optometry, audiology, lab services and a dispensing pharmacy.
Mental health services will include substance abuse, PTSD, depression and other areas of mental health care.
Ground was broken on the new facility in late summer 2020. While it had been scheduled for a late summer opening this year, some supply chain challenges have pushed the opening to November.
As of mid-September, Webb said the contractor was finished with the property, and the VA was in the process of adding furniture and equipment, and hiring and training staff.
The center is at 5080 Bill Farr Drive, conveniently located behind the Walmart off Indiana 46 and U.S. 40. The 12-acre site also has abundant parking, Webb said.
The project had been years in the making, kicking off in earnest in early 2017. In late 2017, Congress approved funding for the Terre Haute facility, as well as new medical centers in Lafayette and Brownsburg, which recently opened.
The Terre Haute project was formally unveiled at a December 2019 event at Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis.
All veterans are encouraged to enroll at the center to determine eligibility for care through the VA system, Webb said.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or at lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter at TribStarLisa.
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