Clayton News Daily

By Johnny Jackson

jjackson@henryherald.com

This fall, the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center plans to open a outpatient clinic in Stockbridge.

The new clinic, to be known as the Stockbridge Community Based Outpatient Clinic, will provide several services to many of Henry County's veterans.

"The clinic will provide comprehensive general medical care, social services, nutrition counseling, radiology services, mental health services, lab and some pharmacy," said Greg Kendall, spokesman for the Atlanta VA Medical Center.

The clinic - located at 175 Medical Blvd., near Henry Medical Center in Stockbridge - is scheduled to open in late September or early October.

"The whole idea is to provide service to veterans in the area," Kendall said. " We plan to have five-to-six primary care providers with a patient panel target between 5,600-6,000 patients as the clinic develops

The nearest similar facility is the East Point Community Based Outpatient Clinic, one of four such clinics the Atlanta VA Medical Center currently oversees in metro Atlanta, including locations in Smyrna, Lawrenceville, and Oakwood.

The Stockbridge clinic is the latest in an expansion of veterans' health care in Georgia, which has nine outpatient clinics. Nationwide, the VA has about 800 clinics.

"This new clinic in Stockbridge is a continued effort to provide the veterans in that community better service," Kendall said.

"The new clinic will help the Atlanta VA Medical Center fulfill the three promises we make to our veterans: Provide care, second to none, maintain and expand services, and every veteran will be personally satisfied, based on the outcome."