New clinic to serve veterans
Soon a new medical clinic in Marianna will serve area residents who have served our country. Department of Veterans Affairs representatives recently toured five local properties offered for a 7,000- to 9,000-square-foot community-based primary care facility included in the VA’s Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services plan.
Jackson County was among five northwest Florida counties – along with Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf and Liberty Counties – that received VA consideration for a clinic location within the region. "We were very fortunate that our county was selected," said Jackson County Veterans Service Officer Ray Carroll.
Currently, area veterans must go to Tallahassee, Panama City or Pensacola, Fla., or Dothan, Ala., for primary health care through the VA. "This clinic will relieve the patient load at those facilities and will open up health care to area veterans physically unable to travel those distances," said Carroll. "There are over 5,500 veterans in Jackson County, according to the VA, and 20 to 26 percent of the veteran population utilizes VA health care, so 1,100 to almost 1,500 veterans from Jackson County alone will be utilizing this clinic."
Veterans from the surrounding northwest Florida counties, as well as south Alabama and Georgia, also are expected to visit the Marianna clinic, Carroll added. VA figures list veteran populations for the neighboring counties as 1,382 in Calhoun; 2,336 in Holmes; and 2,692 in Washington County. These numbers will increase as troops return from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, he noted.
The facility will house at least one doctor, a nurse practitioner and other staff, plus the Jackson County Veterans Service office for one-stop convenience. Medical services will be outpatient primary care, with no emergency services or specialized care.
The VA implemented CARES in 2000, first collecting extensive data on veterans’ health care needs, then producing a comprehensive inventory of VA facilities and veteran population projections for the next 20 years. From the information, the VA formulated a proposal for opening, closing or modifying facilities to shift veterans’ medical care to wherever most needed. As Florida’s veteran population has increased 25 percent over the last decade, the VA has begun adding outpatient clinics throughout the state to provide health care to Florida’s 1.9 million veterans.
In addition to Carroll’s contacts with VA officials, U. S. Congressman Allen Boyd’s efforts have been instrumental in bringing an outpatient clinic to the area. "There is a great need to provide health care services to veterans, especially in northwest Florida," said Boyd. "I have worked hard to ensure that the needs of our north Florida veterans are considered in the CARES plan."
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