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Pasco Finds Location For New Veterans Clinic

New Port Richey VA clinic will remain open as the new facility is constructed.
U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Pasco County will soon be home to a new 114,000-square-foot veteran’s outpatient clinic.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the new medical clinic will be constructed in New Port Richey. Pasco currently is home to approximately 51,000 veterans.

“The VA frankly outgrew the current facility, almost literally busting at the seams. So the new facility is going to be about double in size,” said Donald E. Stout, Pasco County Veterans Services Manager.

Stout added that for now, the VA plans to keep the current New Port Richey facility open.

The new clinic will combine the health care services currently provided at other veteran clinics across Florida. The wide-ranging list of services includes mental health, primary care, vision, dental, and home-based primary care.

The new location would help Pasco veterans who had to travel to other counties for these medical services.

“We’re glad to see it happen and we look forward to helping our veterans get services there,” said Stout.

The new clinic is a result of a 2014 legislation to expand VA operations across the United States. Congressman Gus Bilirakis helped secure the clinic for Pasco, the only county in Florida listed in the legislation. It received $11 million to finance the new clinic.

Construction for the new clinic is expected to start next year, and be completed by 2021. It will be located on Little Road in New Port Richey, north of the Pasco County Government Center.

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Jessica Barron is a WUSF/USF Zimmerman School digital news intern for fall 2018.