OxfordPress.com

HAMILTON — Area veterans will receive improved services locally as federal officials expand medical services in Hamilton, a county official said Thursday night.

A community based outreach clinic on Ohio 4 for veterans will include more doctors, a psychiatrist and a pharmacy on site, said Curtis McPherson, executive director of the Butler County Veterans Services Commission.

"Right now they're sharing that building with a chiropractor. It's our hope they'll be able to take over that whole building now," McPherson said.

The satellite clinic, which has been at 1755 Erie Boulevard for about two years, will now operate under federal guidelines, he said.

The announcement of the community based outreach clinic was made Thursday by U.S. Sens. George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown.

It will be one of new two federal sites created in the state, according to the lawmakers. Voinovich and Brown also announced the opening of a clinic in Parma, a Cleveland suburb.

Services at the clinics will include comprehensive primary care, health promotion, maintenance, routine or urgent care procedures and education, according to Veterans Affairs.

The VA also said that, at the Hamilton site, routine specialty care consultation and laboratory services will still be referred to the parent facility in Cincinnati. Basic X-rays will be delivered by contract and invasive radiology or more complex diagnostic imaging procedures will be through a contract. Emergency care will be obtained at the nearest hospital.

The VA anticipates that 950 existing patients and 300 new patients will be treated at the Hamilton facility with an estimated 5,000 visits a year. The VA said operations should begin as soon as it receives receipt of approval because the satellite clinic is already in operation.

The two new sites are part of an initiative to make sure every veteran has access to a VA hospital or clinic within 30 miles, said Garrette Silverman, Voinovich's press secretary.

VA operates the largest integrated health care system in the country with 153 hospitals and more than 700 community-based clinics. The department will receive $34 billion in funding this year to provide health care to about 5.5 million people.