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VA clinic looking to entice more patients in new city location

3 min read
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The company that recently took over as the operator of Washington County VA Outpatient Clinic is hoping to bring more patients into the health care system.

“We know that there are veterans out there who are eligible to enroll in this clinic, but they haven’t yet,” said Dr. Scott Wise, president of Dallas-based Valor Healthcare. “But when we do our outreach … and those veterans come in and see this place, we know that enrollment will grow. And that’s what we want. We want them to be able to get the care and the services that they’ve earned through their service.”

Wise gave an interview following a brief ceremony for the grand opening of the clinic in its new location at the Crossroads Center in Washington. The clinic’s been operated there by Dallas-based Valor since April 1 under a 10-year contract with the VA.

A town hall-style meeting for local veterans was planned for later in the day at a nearby American Legion post.

Wise said about 4,200 veterans from the area are enrolled at the clinic for primary care.

“The VA estimates that there will be upwards of 4,600 eventually … we think there’s tremendous opportunity simply because we know there are a lot of veterans in this catchment area who aren’t already enrolled, and that’s why we do a grand opening event and then we’ll do an outreach event probably later in the year to grow enrollment.”

The clinic is part of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, whose other facilities are the larger medical centers in Pittsburgh and Aspinwall and outpatient clinics in Fayette, Beaver and Westmoreland counties, Wheeling, W.Va., and Belmont County, Ohio.

Valor, which was founded in 2004, operates a total of 33 VA clinics across the country. Among those are the outpatient facilities in Westmoreland and Belmont (Ohio) counties.

The Washington County clinic first opened in 2001. It was formerly in the Washington Crown Center in North Franklin Township, about two miles away from the new one on the second floor of the building on West Beau Street.

“Selecting this location was part of our proposal” for the contract to run the clinic.

The previous operator was Sterling Medical Associates, a Cincinnati company whose five-year contract to run the facility recently expired. Contracts to run outpatient clinics like the one in Washington go up for competitive bid when they expire.

The VA’s outpatient clinics typically offer primary care, behavioral health services and podiatry. The Washington clinic’s staff also has a PhD pharmacist and dietitian on staff and offers podiatry services. An audiologist started at the clinic in April.

“Audiology was added based on the veterans’ feedback, that they that kind of care here,” said Dr. Ali Sonel, chief of staff for the Pittsburgh VA system. “We’re looking at bringing in optometry here. We’ve also expanded our telemedicine and telehealth capabilities so that more specialty care can reach them here without them having to drive into Pittsburgh.”

At about 21,000 square feet, the Crossroads location has about twice as much space as the previous one. A newly built walkway leads into the clinic from the floor of the adjacent parking garage that’s set aside for patients.

“They walk straight from their parking lot across the sky bridge directly into our clinic,” Wise said. “(It’s a) great, great convenience for the veterans.”

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