VA outpatient clinic to shutter

BUCKEYE — The Phoenix VA Health Care System will close an outpatient clinic in Buckeye at the end of June.

When the clinic shutters, nearly 400 veterans who get care there must travel to Surprise for primary health care, about 35 miles from the Buckeye clinic.

The move is temporary, officials said.

“We are very much interested in pursuing a future clinic in the (Buckeye) area, but we’re in the early planning stages of reassessing our options,” said Scott McRoberts, a spokesman for rthe Phoenix VA Health Care System.

The veterans health-care group issued two contract solicitations in late 2012 for another provider to maintain primary care services at the Southwest Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Buckeye. No bids were received, McRoberts said.

The health-care group will suspend care at the downtown Buckeye center and transfer it to the Northwest Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Surprise, 13985 W. Grand Ave.

The Phoenix VAHealth Care System comprises the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center and seven clinics, including ones in Globe, Show Low and Payson.

The closure in Buckeye is not related to the sequester, the automatic federal budget cuts that began in March, McRoberts said.

The Phoenix VA Healthcare System plans to discuss the closure during a meeting at 7 p.m. June 20 at Buckeye City Hall, 530 E. Monroe Ave.