The Department of Veterans Affairs will open a new medical facility in Sussex County in the next four to six years.
The VA announced it will begin the procurement process to lease a medical facility in Sussex County. Sussex County currently has about 11 thousand square feet of space for veterans’ services.
The new facility will replace the Sussex County Clinic with 136 thousand square feet – more than ten times the space. The new location will also be near public transportation and easily accessible, according to Wilmington VA Medical Center Associate Director Kim Butler.
Butler also said the Sussex County clinic is at maximum capacity.
“As a result, area Veterans utilize VA-purchased care in the community, where there are limited resources, or a VA site further away,” Butler said.
The new facility has an estimated cost of $170 million. A location has not yet been selected, but the VA expects the clinic will open in the next four to six years.
State Senator Brian Pettyjohn said he’s looking forward to the wide range of care the VA will be able to offer Sussex County vets.
“I'm thrilled,” Pettyjohn said. “This is something that we've been asking for from our federal delegation for well over a decade, and to see this announcement and to have that hope that we're going to get that type of care down here in Sussex County is huge for our veteran population, and it's a big win for them.”
Pettyjohn added the new clinic will remove the burden of distance Sussex County veterans face when seeking medical care.
“We're looking for better care for veterans that are undergoing cancer treatments,” Pettyjohn said. “We're looking for better care for mental health services for our veterans. We're looking for better care for the whole gambit of diseases that are not only maybe service-related, but are just related to the aging population of our veterans as well.”
Proposed services include but are not limited to primary care, behavioral health, dental, eye care, dialysis and MRI.
