By LYNETTE SOWELL-STEVENS
Cove Leader-Press
Site work on the new VA clinic in Copperas Cove is already full steam ahead, and on Thursday morning, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site of the more than 250,000-square foot facility.
The target delivery date for the $160 million project is summer 2028, with a goal of seeing its first patients by spring of 2029, said Lindsay Killian, Director of Lease Execution for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA will have a 20-year lease with Cullinan Properties, LTD. Leo A. Daly Architecture, Hoar Construction, and Medical Office Properties-3, LLC are involved with the project.
Clinic services will include primary care, women's health, imaging, dental care, endoscopy, cardiology, audiology, speech pathology, dermatology, prosthetics, mental health, social work, pulmonology, and have a pharmacy as well as an eye clinic.
The Central Texas service area is comparable in size to the state of Indiana, and this newest project aims to reduce travel barriers for veterans across the area.
Christopher Myhager is the Executive Director of the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System and spoke about that during the ceremony.
“This clinic will help us expand access to care right here in Copperas Cove and the surrounding communities, making it easier for our veterans to receive the care they need without having to travel further than necessary,” said Myhager. “And that's important because sometimes the biggest barrier to getting healthcare isn't the care itself; it's getting to the care. This clinic is another step in changing that.
“When a veteran walks into a VA clinic, they are more than a patient. They are someone whose health maybe may have been shaped by the years of military service, by rough marches, aircraft jumps, deployments, burn pits, glass exposure, or simply the physical and emotional demands of serving our great nation.
“The VA understands that history, and that matters. Our commitment is simple: to make it easier for veterans to choose VA, access quality healthcare, and receive the care they deserve much closer to home.”
The Hon. Richard F. Hopping, Assistant Secretary of Management and Chief Financial Officer for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs was another of the speakers.
“Every mile that a veteran doesn't have to drive matters. Every mile closer to home here, that matters, and every day that we can reduce barriers to care,” Hopping said. “It has been amazing to be part of these types of projects, focusing on expanding access, modernizing facilities, increasing capacity, etc., for the veterans like me who use this system, so I'm excited to be here and be part of it.”
He thanked all who have been a part of the process in getting the project to this point.
“When this facility opens, veterans really aren't going to see any of those numbers I talked about. They aren't going to see any spreadsheets we worked on. Can't see any of the text legislations that Carter helped put in. What they're going to see when they show up here is they're going to see their doctor.”
The site of the clinic is part of The Narrows Business & Technology Park, which was just open fields and had a few streets which were dedicated in a January 2015 ceremony.
Fred Chavez is currently on the board of the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation, and he was on the CCEDC board in 2015.
At Thursday’s groundbreaking, Chavez shared about what it was like to see this big of a project come about, not just for the city, but for the region.
“I think the big boost for the city is being able to have another medical facility, which serves a huge, huge demographic in this town. We are very strongly militarily connected, we’ve got a lot of veterans, and this will be good for them. Plus, it will become a destination for other communities who have veterans, to come here,” Chavez said.
“Economically, this will spur on secondary and tertiary businesses that will serve this (facility) and serve the citizens.”
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