Veterans, doctors excited about new VA clinic opening in Texarkana
TEXARKANA, Texas (KSLA) - Access to medical and mental health treatments for Texarkana area veterans has improved with the opening of a new clinic in Texarkana.
“We are ten years in the making. We started planning about ten years ago,” said Dr. Charles Jordan.
Monday, Aug. 15 marked the official opening of a new Overton Brooks veterans clinic in Texarkana. The VA clinic was originally located on the Arkansas side of the city, but leaders decided to relocate to Texas in order to have a larger facility. Physical construction on the clinic began in 2020.
Dr. Charles Jordan is the clinic administrator. He says once fully operational, they hope to see around 500 veterans per day.
“First of all, we are going to be offering a lot more services, completing as many as double the amount of appointments so we can see more veterans,” the doctor said.
Dr. Jordan says the increase in services is a plus for the new clinic. He says many veterans living in Texarkana have to travel to the VA hospital in Shreveport, so the building of this new facility will save those patients a lot of travel time.
“Our veterans who do drive will no longer have to drive to Shreveport. It will cut down on a lot of that driving and they will be able to receive those services right here in the community,” said Dr. Jordan.
Dr. Jordan says the facility has a comprehensive women’s healthcare clinic to address the increase in female veterans. A physical therapy area is also part of the new services provided at the clinic.
“It’s beautiful. Everything is brand new,” said James McRaven, a veteran.
McRaven is a Vietnam veteran and a patient at the Overton Brooks clinic in Texarkana.
“It is the greatest thing we have gotten here in Texarkana for the veterans. It’s going to be wonderful,” McRaven said.
The new clinic has 27 patient rooms for private care and 11 rooms for mental health services.
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