Bigger and better VA clinic under construction here

TEXARKANA,Texas — A new VA clinic under construction here will more than double the size of current facilities, and allow for the expansion of medical services veterans in the area.

Starting roughly a year ago this month, the U.S Veterans Administration announced plans to build a newer and much larger VA Clinic in the 5700 block of Summerhill Road.

Since the spring groundbreaking, this new Community Outpatient Clinic has gradually taken noticeable shape especially since work crews

with the Texarkana-based ML James Construction company started work in mid to late June. It is tentatively slated for opening by the fall of this year. It will be 24,000 square feet and cost about $5 million to build.

The clinic still in use has 11,000 square feet. It opened in 2003 and is located in the 900 block of Realtor Avenue.

Besides the added space, the building, once completed, will feature rooms for primary care as well as for women’s health care, in addition to expanded mental health services, audiology services, an optometry shop, lab services, basic radiology (x-rays) and physical therapy.

Technological advances, along with increased numbers of veterans choosing

VA medical care, further justified needing this larger building - in addition to providing a shorter driving distance for Texarkana area veterans, who otherwise, might have to go to Shreveport or Little Rock for medical services.

This will be the third VA clinic in Texarkana. The first was on Summerhill Road. It opened in 1994.

The current clinic has at least 5,000 local and area veterans registered for medical service. Officials anticipated 1,000 more will be registered by the time the new clinic opens.