Sen. Boozman tours new VA outpatient clinic in Fort Smith

Catherine Nolte, Fort Smith Times Record
·2 min read
U.S. Sen. John Boozman prepares to take a tour of the VA Clinic in Fort Smith on Jan. 25, 2022.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman prepares to take a tour of the VA Clinic in Fort Smith on Jan. 25, 2022.
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U.S. Sen. John Boozman toured the new Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic Tuesday to see finishing construction on the Fort Smith facility.

The clinic, located at 5500 Phoenix Ave., will open in March, expanding healthcare access for the region's veterans.

The clinic is one of seven VA community-based outpatient clinics under the Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks spanning Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. The clinic is currently housed in the Baptist Health Medical Plaza-Fort Smith.

With the move to the new facility, 15,000 square feet and additional medical services will be added.

Boozman, a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, visited with VA staff members as they shared excitement for the new facility.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman talks about the importance of having the newly constructed VA Clinic in Fort Smith and how it will impact the lives of the veterans and the citizens in the area during a tour of the clinic on Jan. 25, 2022.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman talks about the importance of having the newly constructed VA Clinic in Fort Smith and how it will impact the lives of the veterans and the citizens in the area during a tour of the clinic on Jan. 25, 2022.

"Today, we're in Fort Smith looking at almost the finality of many years of work in creating a new clinic for our veterans," Boozman said. "The clinic will have several new features, things like audiology, which were not in the old clinic, eye care, laboratory, state-of-the-art radiology."

With his training as an optometrist, Boozman emphasized the importance of eye care for veterans. He also shared the importance of the clinic's expanded capacity to provide care for women veterans.

"The VA is working so hard to take care of those that are serving. The old system was primarily built for men because that's who was serving. Now, we have so many women that are in the military ... [and] women veterans that we're working hard to take care of now."

With the clinic's proximity to Fort Chaffee and being at the Ebbing Air National Guard Base, the senator emphasized Fort Smith's care for veterans.

"Fort Smith has always been a place that has taken care of veterans," Boozman said. "They're very proud of their veteran population. We have the airbase here. We also have the national guard. We have Camp Chaffee ... This is just a big bonus for the community in so many different ways.

"I think that being on the base should make [veterans] feel much more at home, especially when we get the F-35s and the F-16s in the air, which we're all looking forward to a great deal," he said.

Kimberly Lane, acting medical center director at the Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks, said it was important for the clinic to offer multiple services in one facility, especially for veterans with limited mobility and transportation.

"We currently serve about 8,600 veterans in the area, and we hope that as we open up the clinic and get things going, that we'll be able to serve a lot more ... right here in their home."

"When we can provide all of their health care needs right here within the clinic, you have a lot better continuity of care. It's better overall healthcare for veterans," Lane said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Sen. John. Boozman Fort Smith VA