Local vets have mixed reactions to VA clinic

HARLINGEN - Local veterans have mixed reactions to a $40 million veterans ambulatory surgery center that is set to open in Harlingen by 2010.

U.S. Army veteran Adam Reyes said he is pleased about the clinic but that the Rio Grande Valley still needs a veterans hospital.

"I feel our clinic has long been awaited, it needs a little bit more work on it, but there are some other issues that need to be brought up," Reyes said. "Honestly, it's a little improvement of what we've had before, but we still need a little bit more improvement for our clinics.

"We are looking more into a hospital, not a clinic, because every veteran has a different issue, every need is different."

The 120,000-square-foot clinic will be located next to the Regional Academic Health Center located at 2102 Treasure Hills Blvd., Harlingen.

It will provide additional services to those now available at the South Texas Veterans Health Care Center at 2106 Treasure Hills Blvd., including primary care, specialty care, X-rays, health screenings, mental health care and a pharmacy.

John Grimes, a Marine Corps veteran, said he is satisfied with the progress of services offered to veterans in the Valley.

"It is such an improvement to what we've had, and there's going to be so much more improvement now that the trips to San Antonio will probably be cut down by 90 percent," Grimes said. "That is going to be a remarkable thing."

With the services currently offered at the South Texas Veterans Health Care Center and those that will be available at the new clinic, there will be almost no need to travel to San Antonio, the former Marine said.

The nearest U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio, is more than 200 miles away from here. The round-trip drive can as much as three hours each way.

"There's not a lot of reasons really to go to San Antonio anymore," Grimes said. "There will be even less reasons when they open up the new clinic."

"I think it's a marvel," he said. "It's a good thing for veterans and I think we should be pleased with everything that has been done, especially with the cooperation the VA gives us with this new VA clinic."

Elia Grimes, another Marine veteran, said the clinic represents a sea change in the level of veterans care available locally.

"I think it's wonderful what the (VA) has done for veterans here. It's long overdue because this area has produced a lot of service people, therefore veterans," Elia Grimes said.

"From nothing to 100 percent services, I think it's wonderful, and if this proves that all the veterans are being served, why would we desire anything else? Veterans all over the country need services. But it's a wonderful step."

Daisy Martinez is reporter for the Valley Morning Star.