RUTLAND, Vt. -
Officials at a newly revamped VA clinic in Rutland are hoping the new look will bring in more patients.
The 5,300-square-foot Veterans Affairs outpatient facility on West Street is much bigger than the former clinic. That facility had just two exam rooms. The new one has four. It's also set up for primary care, women's and mental health services, internet use for veterans, and telehealth conference calls between patients in Rutland and their surgeons in White River Junction. Health care workers hope that convenience will make it easier for veterans to tend to their health care needs without having to travel.
"Something that a lot of people think that isn't true is if they come, they're taking services from someone else. But in fact we get services and resources based on the number of people that are actually enrolled and assigned. So, we'll just continue to grow and we'll be able to offer more support staff as well as more medical providers, the more people who are actually enrolled here," said Jennifer Cyr Tinsman, a physician assistant.
There are 1,400 veterans assigned to the clinic, but doctors estimate there are a few hundred more in the area who have not yet set up any primary health care services.
