The James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital has a people and parking problem: too many people and not enough parking.
The nation's busiest VA hospital averages 6,000 outpatient visits a day and is on pace to serve 1 million visitors this year. It has just 2,600 parking spaces, nearly a third of those at a nearby shopping mall.
But hospital officials say they have a plan, and relief is on the way. Veterans should see significant change by next year.
Two major services - the outpatient pharmacy and the eye clinic - are moving off campus to buildings being constructed about a mile away. The pharmacy fills about 3,400 prescriptions a day, and the eye clinic, which is open Monday through Saturday, receives about 100 visits a day, said Carolyn Clark, a hospital spokeswoman.
The pharmacy, which will offer drive-through service, should open by March. The 21,000-square-foot eye clinic is expected to open in April.
By late 2009, officials expect to open a six-story, 1,500-space parking garage on Haley's main campus. That will give the hospital about 3,500 parking spaces on-site with an additional 600 spaces available at University Mall.
"It should take care of parking issues," said Verana Richardson, administrative officer for hospital director Stephen Lucas. "We've been waiting over 20 years for a parking garage."
The changes don't stop there.
By late 2011, officials want to open a 120,000-square-foot outpatient primary care annex within 3 to 5 miles of the main hospital. That should greatly reduce congestion at the main hospital, Richardson said.
A second 50,000-square-foot outpatient annex is planned for south Hillsborough County. Officials hope to open that facility in 2010.
"We're trying to attract new veterans," Richardson said. "We have so many veterans coming home."
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