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New VA clinic opens Monday

by BRIAN WALKER/bwalker@cdapress.com
| August 1, 2014 9:00 PM

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<p>Josh McCoy, chief of environmental services for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, adheres a sign to a door at Coeur d’Alene’s new VA clinic.</p>

COEUR d'ALENE - The new $1.8 million Department of Veterans Affairs' outpatient clinic in Coeur d'Alene will open Monday.

The 16,200-square-foot building is at 915 W. Emma Ave., one block southwest of the hospital district adjacent to Interstate 90 and the U.S. 95 interchange.

The 16,000-square-foot clinic at 2177 Ironwood Center Drive closed Thursday. It opened in 2008.

"The biggest reason for opening the new one is because more and more veterans are seeking quality health care through the VA, and we recognized that several years ago when medical center leadership submitted budget requests to fund the new clinic," said Bret Bowers, a VA spokesman.

"We currently serve approximately 4,000 veterans, and with the additional space, services and staff supporting the new clinic, we are excited about creating more access to health care for veterans in northern Idaho."

The Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane is leasing the new building from owner Parkwood Business Properties.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the veterans who live in the Idaho Panhandle and the surrounding region," said Robby Riddle, chief of the ambulatory care service at the VA medical center in Spokane. "We have already positioned additional staff in Coeur d'Alene to allow us to better serve and increase access for veterans."

The new clinic will have 16 exam rooms and two procedural rooms with space to accommodate seven providers, visiting consultants, specialists and support staff.

Services will include primary care, home-based primary care, limited laboratory and pharmacy services, mental health, social work and substance abuse prevention programs.

A ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony will be planned for later this year.

For more information, call 665-1700 or (800) 325-7940 or visit www.spokane.va.gov.

In another local effort to serve vets, a feasibility study for a new veterans home in Kootenai County, possibly Post Falls, is underway.