EAST LIVERPOOL VA clinic to reopen at building

The clinic has been operating from a temporary location for months.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
EAST LIVERPOOL -- After a rocky beginning, the new veterans clinic here is expected to start 2002 in a more promising fashion.
Plans are to reopen the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in its original location sometime in January, director Ed Maurer said recently.
The clinic has been operating out of temporary quarters at East Liverpool City Hospital since July. For about eight weeks before that, limited services were provided through a mobile clinic.
The clinic originally opened in May 2000 at 332 W. Sixth St. But it was forced to abandon the renovated building about a year later because of problems that included a lingering sewage smell and mold.
Fixes: Over the last several months, fixes have been undertaken at the privately owned building to remedy the problems that had driven out the clinic.
"It appears all the issues are being resolved," and repairs should be wrapped up by about year's end, Maurer said.
Most of the repairs have been paid for by the building's owners. But Veterans Affairs has pitched in about $30,000 to have installed a new ventilation system it wanted.
During its stay at city hospital, the clinic has been offering the same services to veterans it would have been providing at the clinic's original location, Maurer said.
"We haven't had to curtail anything," he added. The hospital has provided space to the clinic for free.
A lot of patients: Despite the location changes, the clinic is seeing a lot of patients, Maurer said.
About 1,600 veterans sought care there from October 2000 to October 2001, Maurer said.
With the clinic returning to its original spot and more area veterans becoming aware of the facility, Maurer said he expects the number of patients in 2002 to swell to about 2,500. That's the level the clinic was designed to handle, he added.
The clinic provides medical and mental health care.
Its staff includes two full-time physicians, a part-time psychiatrist and four full-time nurses.
Whether veterans must pay for the care they receive at the clinic depends on several factors.
If a veteran is being treated for a condition related to his or her military service, treatment is free. If a condition is not service-related, fees will be based on a veteran's ability to pay.
Before the East Liverpool clinic was established, area veterans seeking care had to travel to VA medical facilities in Youngstown, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Butler, Pa., or Canton.