Published: March 25, 2008 02:44 pm         

V.A. medical center open

Wednesday was a great day for local veterans who now have their own medical facility right in the Morehead area.

The Department of Veterans Affairs celebrated a ribbon cutting for the new outpatients clinic that will service the more than 8,000 veterans in Rowan and surrounding counties, who have spent years traveling to Lexington and Huntington to receive medical care.

World War II veteran Luther Adams of Morehead attended the ceremony and said the center has been needed for quite some time. “I think it’s very impressive and we have certainly been waiting on it,” he commented. “I’m proud to be a vet and happy to see this facility come to Morehead for all of us. All the people here at this clinic have treated me wonderful and it will be nice to get to come here instead of drive all the way to Lexington.”

Sandy Nielsen, director of the Department of Veterans Affairs, stood before those attending the ribbon cutting and explained what veterans could expect from the new center.

“V.A. health care has changed a lot in the past years,” Nielsen said. “In fact, the V.A. system ranks the best health care in the country. This clinic will provide the same level of care as the Lexington V.A. and any V.A. health care center in the country.”

Nielsen said the Lexington V.A. Medical Center opened 77 years ago with 175 employees but now employs 1,500 staff members.

“These people are not just active in health care, they are committed to the community by supporting many proceedings, including food drives and other charitable events,” Nielsen said. “More than 30 percent of our employees are veterans themselves, and we all know that veterans are the heart of everything we do,” Nielsen commented.

With over 9,000 square-feet of newly constructed space, the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic of Morehead will have 12 exam rooms, one woman’s exam room, six private offices, a teleconference room and a group room to provide for the more than 8,000 veterans residing in the Morehead area.

Examination rooms are equipped with computer terminals that directly interface with the computer system at the V.A. Medical Center in Lexington, while placing important medical information at the fingertips of the providers, Nielsen said.

In addition, when veterans are referred to a V.A. Hospital in Lexington for specialty or inpatient care, their electronic medical record from that particular clinic will be immediately accessible by providers there, Nielsen added.

The Morehead facility has a team of eight health care professionals and two administrative support staff who will manage the clinic to be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., except on holidays. For more information about the facility and its available services call 784-3004.