FAYETTEVILLE : Projects at VA to add services, facilities by ’23

FAYETTEVILLE : Projects at VA to add services, facilities by ’23
BY TRACIE DUNGAN

Posted on Monday, November 19, 2007


FAYETTEVILLE — Officials at the Veterans Administration Medical Center are planning expansions of the campus and its programs between now and 2023 to handle a growing population of veterans and their changing medical needs.

Goals include shorter waits for preventive or acute primary care and fewer referrals to other far-away VA centers for specialized care.

The Fayetteville VA is taking into account not only veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the increased primary care and medical specialties they will need, but the ongoing population growth in its service area, said Doris Cassidy, associate director.

“We’re still growing about 2. 4 percent a month,” she said.

The VA also operates three satellite outpatient clinics in Arkansas and Missouri and has gained approval for a fourth proposed site in Branson. It serves veterans in 11 counties in Arkansas — Washington, Benton, Carroll, Madison, Newton, Boone, Marion, Crawford, Sebastian, Franklin and Scott — two counties in Oklahoma and 11 in Missouri.

The expansion plans place a heavier emphasis on outpatient care for physical ailments and mental health care.
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