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New VA Clinic Would Make A Difference

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 11, 2008

The James A. Haley VA Hospital & Clinics is the busiest of the nation's 164 Veterans Administration hospitals and the fifth most complex in terms of medical care provided.

Yet employees and veterans face a space crunch. Often near-skirmishes occur in the parking lot. There simply isn't enough room.

Veterans arriving for outpatient appointments, especially those from east Hillsborough and Polk counties, would find some relief if the U.S. Senate follows the House and provides funding to lease a 50,000-square-foot building in Brandon.

Congressman Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, shepherded the $4.3 million appropriation, which would be available in 2009. The new clinic would serve as an extension of Haley and serve more than 10,000 veterans annually.

A smaller clinic is expected to open this fall near the Hillsborough-Polk county line.

Only California has more veterans than Florida, and Haley posted more than 1 million outpatient visits last year. With more than 100,000 veterans living in Hillsborough County and nearly 56,000 living in Polk, trips to VA clinics for blood work, X-rays and other outpatient procedures are expected to increase 25 percent in the next two decades.

Veterans shouldn't have to battle for appointments. It's good to see our congressional delegation doing its part to relieve the congestion.

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