TAMPA, Fla. — Construction on a new mental health clinic for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Tampa is set to start in the spring of 2022.
According to the U.S. General Services Administration, the new clinic will combine three existing facilities that are undersized. Those are the existing Psychology Rehab and Recovery Center, Tampa Domiciliary and the Tampa Mental Health Clinic, according to a press release from the GSA.
The goal for the new clinic is to help better serve Tampa Bay's growing veteran population, the GSA said. The new facility will have a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient health care clinic that will have a 60-bed domiciliary and 800 parking spaces.
“There are few higher callings in our nation than military service, but as a veteran who retired from active duty, I have personally seen the mental and emotional toll it's had on many of my comrades-in-arms,” said acting Regional Administrator Kevin Kerns with GSA’s Southeast Sunbelt Region. “By bringing together all of these essential services under one roof, our partners with the VA will be able to offer more convenient access to the care for those veterans in need.”
“Mental health is a top priority, and our new home for this critical service will provide an even better space for healing. Consolidating and expanding our facilities to better serve veterans is the overall goal of our mission to modernize Tampa VA,” said David VanMeter, interim director of James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics. “As more and more veterans come to call the Tampa Bay area their home, we are growing to meet their needs.”
The area's veterans aren't the only ones leaders say will be benefitting from this move.
The U.S. General Services Administration said the new clinic would give taxpayers a break. By combining three facilities into a single medical center, the new agreement will save an estimated $15 million over the lease term, according to GSA leaders.
The new facility will be located at Temple Terrace Highway and Davis Road.
According to the Florida Department of Veteran's Affairs, about 1,525,400 veterans live in Florida. More than 98,000 veterans call Tampa and its surrounding Hillsborough County communities home, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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