New VA Clinic could open in September

May 11--The new Veterans Clinic on Greenville Street might open its doors in four months, a spokesman at the Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday.

Dwayne Rider said the organization is "looking at a September ribbon cutting" as it prepares to move into a 44,000-square-foot facility on 12 acres near T.L. Hanna High School.

The two-story building, about two miles north of the present clinic, is expected to offer expanded services -- including radiology, rehabilitation, audiology and prosthetics -- in addition to the primary care and mental health offered in the present facility.

Last year, during a groundbreaking at the proposed facility, VA officials optimistically forecast a May 2015 opening date.

Although veterans can access any facility nationwide, the Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, one of 11 in South Carolina, is designed to reduce travel for veterans in Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties. It is also the nearest VA facility for veterans in several north Georgia counties.

"We want to provide easier access for as many people as possible," amid shifting population trends, Rider said.

The existing clinic, less than 10,000 square feet with only 40 parking spaces, serves about 5,000 patients a year.

Anderson County is home to more than 16,300 veterans.

The Anderson facility is expected to cost about $30 million, according to VA estimates when the plans were announced in August 2010.

Hospitals in Columbia and Asheville, North Carolina, will remain the primary facilities for major surgery.

The outpatient clinics in Anderson and Greenville are among 11 in South Carolina and the only two in the Upstate.

Ken Lewellen, who serves as a volunteer coordinator of medical benefits at the Anderson County Veterans Association, said the new facility should make treatment opportunities more convenient.

Lewellen said parking "is always a problem," at the present facility.

"I don't think everybody realizes how much the present clinic and the clinic in Greenville are overloaded with patients," Lewellen said. "Even the new facility in Greenville is understaffed. Anything that will keep a veteran from Hartwell or Anderson from having to drive to Greenville should help."

Lewellen, who is also president of the Anderson County Marine Corps League, said he expects to continue to visit the Augusta, Georgia, facility for his auditory problems.

"They're trying to eliminate travel, but at the same time a lot of things are just too expensive to duplicate," Lewellen said. "I understand that for things to do with hearing problems, the best option will still be in Augusta."

Diagnostic tools such as X-rays and CT scans will be available at the outpatient clinics, Lewellen said, but use of high-cost equipment such as MRI machines will continue to be scheduled at the medical centers in Asheville and Columbia.

The presence of a full-time staff physician reduces the need for reliance on VA clinics among residents at the Richard Campbell Nursing Home for Veterans near Belton, but Executive Director Billy Birmingham said occasional visits are made to the medical centers in Columbia and Augusta.

"We have some men with spinal-cord injuries that require annual checkups, and those require visits to specialists at the Augusta hospital. Other than that, our residents don't use the VA system that much," Birmingham said. "From what I understand, the expanded services at the new Anderson clinic will be a help to younger veterans, More than those in long-term care."

South Carolina is home to 417,554 veterans, according to Department of Defense statistics compiled in September 2014. In addition to the more than 16,000 Anderson County veterans, that includes 7,148 in Oconee County and 8,966 veterans in Pickens County.

In Georgia, Hart County is home to 2,101 veterans. Approximately 1,800 veterans live in Franklin County and nearly 1,700 reside in Elbert County.

Follow Abe Hardesty on Twitter @abe_hardesty

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