For veterans living in Polk County, the only option to get to a VA hospital was to drive to Tampa or to Orlando, but now there’s a closer option.

James A Haley Veterans’ Hospital hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Lakeland VA Clinic, located at 2080 Meadowland Park Boulevard in south Lakeland.

It’s a 121,000 square foot out-patient facility that offers patients access to primary care, mental healthcare, pharmacy, audiology and much more. It’s all to accommodate a growing veteran population in Polk County and the state.

The veteran population from St. Pete/Tampa to Orlando to Gainesville is growing between 3-9% each year.

The clinic, the veterans’ hospital’s third largest, will have double the staff and will be able to serve around 20,000 patients annually, which is five times the number than their previous clinic on Pipkin Road.

Source:  Fox 13 News