BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — 17 years after Congress first authorized a new VA clinic in Bakersfield, veterans are getting a closer look at where they'll soon receive care.
The new 30,000-square-foot facility is located on Old River Road near Camino Media in southwest Bakersfield. It will replace the more than 30-year-old VA clinic on Westwind Drive.
Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., said the old facility has struggled to keep up with growing demand.
"Some veterans have needed to make six-hour round trip drive to LA just to uh for specialty care. That's too much to ask for men and women who have already given so much to our country," Valadao said.
The new clinic will offer expanded primary care, mental health services, dental care, rehabilitation, and more.
I asked VA Secretary Doug Collins whether those expanded services would mean fewer veterans having to travel outside Kern County for treatment.
"I think the expectations they're gonna be able to get their care here, especially with telehealth. There's a lot of stuff for mental health side that we can do. We're gonna have women's health, which is one of the things I wanna emphasize here," Collins said.
Collins said the new facility will double the number of dental chairs and give staff more room to care for patients. The move will also allow the VA to get out of its current lease, which officials say has cost millions of dollars in additional expenses.
Getting here has taken years. The original project faced repeated legal challenges, including disputes over environmental reviews that delayed construction. A court ruling in favor of the City of Bakersfield last year helped clear one of those hurdles.
This is not the permanent clinic originally planned for Bakersfield. Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., said the fight isn't over.
"This facility is not the finish line. It's an important step. This is a modernized clinic that gets our veterans out of inadequate building and into better care while we continue to build an additional permanent facility," Fong said.
Officials said the facility is expected to open its doors in early December.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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