Department of Veterans Affairs to Open Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Hamlet, N.C.
April 30, 2008

DURHAM – Enhancing access to health care by locating outpatient clinics close to where the majority of veterans reside is a key goal for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  In keeping with that priority, the VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) and Fayetteville VA Medical Center (VAMC) are pleased to announce that it will open a new Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Hamlet, N.C.  The scheduled opening date is May 12.    

The clinic is located at 106 Jefferson Street in Hamlet. VA is leasing approximately 6,000 net usable square feet of space in an existing facility used previously for medical purposes.  The lessor is Sandhills Regional Medical Center.  The lessor has modified   the space to VA specifications.  A celebratory pre-opening ribbon-cutting will be conducted at 10am, Monday May 5. 

Management and staffing of the Hamlet CBOC will be the responsibility of the Fayetteville VAMC.  At the Hamlet site, VA staff will provide primary care and general mental health services to veterans primarily from Anson, Richmond, and Scotland Counties.  VA estimates that 2,400 veterans will seek care at the Hamlet Clinic.

The clinic will be in operation from 7:30 am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday.  Veterans with emergency needs during or after hours should seek care at the nearest community emergency facility.  The Hamlet CBOC will not provide emergency care.  Phone number for the Hamlet clinic is (910) 582-3536.

Veterans currently enrolled at the Fayetteville VAMC who live in close proximity to the Hamlet clinic will be given priority for care there.  Fayetteville VAMC will review its list of veterans currently enrolled who may benefit from assignment as a patient at the new clinic.  Fayetteville will inform those veterans of that option.  Other veterans who wish to receive care at the Hamlet Clinic must register with the Fayetteville VAMC.  This may be accomplished by phone, letter, e-mail, or on-line at www.fayettevillenc.va.gov; or   www.va.gov.  For enrollment information, veterans may contact Ms. Yolanda Eden at 910-822-7972.  

Referrals for specialty care to Fayetteville VA Medical Center or to other VA sites will continue as appropriate for veterans seen initially at the Hamlet Clinic. 

“We are pleased to establish this new site of outpatient care in Hamlet to improve access to clinical services for our veterans residing in this area of North Carolina,” stated VISN 6 Director, Daniel F. Hoffmann.  “We appreciate the support on the part of members of Congress, particularly Representative Robin Hayes, who has been a strong advocate for the establishment of this clinic.  We also thank our Veterans Service Organizations and the many veterans who will serve as volunteers at this clinic for their patience and suggestions during the period of negotiations and build-out of this clinic site.  I know that Mr. Bruce Triplett, our Director at Fayetteville VAMC, and his team will operate this clinic in a safe, efficient, effective and compassionate manner for our veterans.”

Fayetteville VA Medical Center (VAMC) is one of eight major facilities within the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 6), headquartered in Durham, N.C.  In 2007, this network provided care to some 307,000 veterans across North Carolina, Virginia, and parts of West Virginia.  Since the attacks on 9/11/2001, some 24,000 of the Nation’s newest veterans—those returning from duty in the Global War on Terror—have been cared for in VISN 6 facilities, including over 6,000 currently enrolled at Fayetteville VAMC. 

The Fayetteville VAMC now manages two other outpatient clinics.  On April 16, Fayetteville staff began operations at an expanded clinic in Jacksonville.  Over the next two years, VISN 6 will greatly expand the Wilmington Clinic under Fayetteville VAMC management.
 
Elsewhere in VISN 6, a major new clinic is in the final phase of construction in Charlotte, N.C., to be managed by Salisbury VAMC, with an expected opening this summer.  The Network is also adding space to its current outpatient clinic in Winston-Salem. 

In late March, VISN 6 began operations at a new CBOC in Charlottesville, Va., managed and staffed by Richmond VAMC.  In August, 2007, it opened a new clinic in Virginia Beach, Va., managed and staffed by Hampton VAMC. 

In the current fiscal year, VA plans to open additional outpatient clinics in Hickory, N.C., to be managed by Salisbury VAMC; in Franklin, N.C., under management of the Asheville VAMC, and in Lynchburg, Va., with management by Salem VAMC. 

Questions specifically about the Hamlet Clinic may be referred to Fayetteville VAMC Office of Public Affairs, at 910-822-7929.  Information on VISN 6 may be obtained by calling Dr. Dave Raney at 919-956-5541.