South Bend, IN—Today, Congressman Joe Donnelly announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will open a new Expanded Service Health Care Center to serve local veterans in the South Bend area.

“This new facility will greatly improve care for our local veterans,” Donnelly said. “For too long now, our veterans have had to travel long distances to get the care they deserve to have close to home. The new facility in South Bend will make quality care more accessible for our veterans.”

Donnelly met with VA Secretary General Eric Shinseki yesterday to discuss the agency’s approval of a new, much expanded health center for outpatient and specialty care and approval to contract with local hospitals, such as St. Joseph Regional Medical Center and Memorial Hospital, to provide inpatient hospital care for area veterans.

Veterans in South Bend will receive a new 60,000 to 70,000 square foot outpatient facility, which will provide comprehensive examination services in cardiology, podiatry, outpatient surgery and other medical specialties, wellness programs and ultrasound exams.  Special services will also be available for newly returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Donnelly has worked with the VA to improve care for veterans in the South Bend area since he took office in 2007. In addition to getting new Community-Based Outpatient Clinics in Goshen, Logansport and Peru, Donnelly hosted a roundtable in South Bend last September to discuss expanding veterans care in South Bend. He has also written numerous letters to the VA and met with VA officials to press them on the issue.

“I am very pleased the Veterans of Fort Wayne and South Bend will receive better services closer to their homes,” said VA’s Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Michael Kussman. “We feel that this is the right choice for Indiana Veterans.”

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