Chula Vista received some strong support for veterans with a ribbon-cutting of the new VA Chula Vista Clinic on Oct. 19. The new $27 million clinic is three times larger than the old clinic.
Primary care was expanded to 28 exam rooms compared to 11 at the old clinic and mental health has 12 consultation rooms.
Dr. Robert Smith, director of the VA San Diego Healthcare System, said that it was a momentous day after the years of planning and hard work of so many staff members.
“This clinic will significantly expand capability and improve access to healthcare for the veterans living in the South Bay,” he said. “Our first Chula Vista clinic opened on July 7, 1999, so we have been serving veterans in South Bay for more than 20 years. Last year we had more than 32,000 outpatient visits at our previous Chula Vista location and served nearly 9,000 veterans. But we were limited by the size of the building we had available to us.”
Smith said the new building has 31,000 usable square feet, three times the size of the former clinic. It has expanded primary care, mental health, laboratory, optometry, podiatry and audiology services, while adding new services such as gynecology and pharmacy consultation.
“When we are up to capacity, we will be able to serve 25,000 veterans,” he said.
The clinic is a green building designed to conserve energy with natural resources, including controlled lighting, skylights and temperature. It also has convenient parking behind the structure with 236 dedicated VA parking spots.
“We look forward to you making an appointment and our excellent staff is here to serve you,” he said.
Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas said the city has always been proud and honored to have so many veterans living in the community.
“We want to make sure we continue to create an atmosphere in our city that supports veterans in every way,” she said. “It is a great day for our veterans and our community, and we honor them by providing them access to great healthcare in our own community.”
Michael Fisher, director of the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network, said through its network, it serves 1.5 million veterans. In San Diego last year, it took care of 90,000 veterans and increased the number of appointments.
“We will be able to increase more of that here because of this new clinic. We are proud to bring you a new state-of-the art facility complete with a womens healthcare center and gynecology services,” he said. “Primary quality healthcare is our number one priority here in VHA and in particularly in our Desert Pacific Network.”
The Chula Vista VA clinic is located at 353 H St.
