Branson veterans clinic nears opening

The clinic will be at 5571 Gretna Road, near State Highway 248, U.S. Sen. Kit Bond and U.S. Congressman Roy Blunt announced Monday.

The 2,400-square-foot Community Based Outpatient Clinic will house two primary care teams and mental health services, according to a news release.

Primary care services will include health promotion and maintenance, and routine and urgent care procedures and education. Mental health services will include medication management, substance-abuse treatment and counseling, individual and group counseling, and assessment/evaluation and therapy. As the clinic expands, additional services will include audiology, optometry, home-based primary care, pharmacy, laboratory and radiology, the release said.

The VA estimates the clinic will serve 900 existing patients and 3,900 new patients. The nearest VA clinics currently are in Mt. Vernon and Fayetteville, Ark.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said Greene County is among 39 communities selected as sites for new VA community centers in 2009. The location should be announced next summer.

Existing community centers offer counseling on employment, family issues and education to combat veterans and family members, as well as bereavement counseling for families of service members killed on active duty and counseling for veterans who were sexually harassed on active duty.[[In-content Ad]]