Thousands of war veterans who live on the Northwest Side no longer will have to travel across town for medical care.
The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System's sixth outpatient clinic is up and running at the southwest corner of West Ina and North Shannon roads.
About 4,300 veterans have enrolled as patients at the VA Northwest Tucson Clinic since it opened in July, said Jonathan Gardner, director of the Southern Arizona VA system. Primary-care optometry and physical therapy are among the services provided at the clinic, which was officially dedicated on Sept. 6.
The clinic also offers mental-health care, which is expected to fill a growing need among veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gardner said. "These kids coming back have been through some very stressful events, and we're finding that they need someone to talk to."
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Soldiers from previous conflicts, including World War II veteran John Brez, 83, also have had access to mental-health services through the VA system.
Brez, who served in the Marine Corps and lives on the Northwest Side, said he landed at the VA system in the mid-1940s after more than two years of combat in the South Pacific. VA doctors in Indiana helped Brez heal from his mental and physical wounds, he said.
Brez, who moved to Tucson in 1960, said that until he transferred to the new clinic, he had sought health care at the VA system's main complex on South Sixth Avenue near Interstate 10.
From now on, he plans to see his doctor at the VA Northwest Tucson Clinic.
"It's half the distance to here," he said after the clinic's dedication ceremony.
Another World War II veteran, Helen Anderson Glass, also said the new clinic is more convenient.
"I will come here for treatment. I live just around the corner," said Glass, who served as an aviation machinist in the Navy. At 84, she also is a volunteer at the Southern Arizona VA system's main site, where clinic patients are routinely sent for surgery or more complex treatment.
In the last 15 years, the Veterans Affairs system has moved toward providing more outpatient care, said Patricia McKlem, VA Southwest Health Care Network director.
She said a goal of the VA system is to make preventive care more accessible to veterans, which "helps physicians and other providers have closer relationships with the patients."
McKlem said reaching out to veterans through outpatient clinics also allows more effective follow-up care for people with chronic illness.
Nearly 48,000 veterans are enrolled in the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, which includes a county in western New Mexico. The Southern Arizona system also serves many other veterans who are enrolled elsewhere in the country but seek medical care while in the state.
The Northwest Tucson Clinic is part of the VA system's ongoing expansion. A larger clinic replaced a crowded one in Sierra Vista recently, and another one is expected to open on the Southeast Side next year.
The clinic planned for the corner of East Valencia and South Houghton roads will be housed in leased space, just like its counterpart on the Northwest Side, Gardner said. As on the Northwest Side, Gardner said, research has shown that up to 7,000 veterans may be eligible for VA health care on the Southeast Side.
The system also operates clinics in Green Valley, Casa Grande, Safford and Yuma.
Clinic information
What: VA Northwest Tucson Clinic, 2011 E. 12th St.
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays except Thursday, when it's open from 7:30 a.m. to noon.
For more information: Call 792-1450, Ext. 2214.
