Coming soon to Clarksville: New VA Clinic 6 times bigger than existing facility

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Clarksville is set to become the home of a 235,000-square-foot multi-specialty VA Clinic, which will be six times the size of the existing facility.

The new, additional clinic is expected to open in 2027, VA Tennessee Deputy Executive Director Michael Renfrow told Clarksville Now, and multiple sites are being considered.

Under the PACT Act passed by Congress last year, the federal government plans to spend $5.5 billion to build 31 new VA facilities across the nation, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs.

These facilities will be in 19 states, with three of those in Tennessee: in Cookeville, Nashville and Clarksville.

“Our team is eager to expand access to world-class health care to veterans in the Clarksville area,” Renfrow said. “We hear time and time again from veterans that they prefer VA as their health care provider, and the recent Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems report demonstrates that.”

Much bigger VA Clinic for Clarksville

The VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System noted that Clarksville has experienced rapid growth in recent years, particularly in the veteran population. That’s why they sized the new Clarksville VA Clinic to accommodate and serve approximately 35,000 enrollees, according to Public Affairs Officer Hannah McDuffie.

In 2018, the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System opened a then-new Clarksville VA clinic at 782 Weatherly Drive, and that was around 40,000 square feet.

At 235,000 square feet, the new clinic will be 195,000 square feet larger, almost six times the size. Renfrow said the square footage could vary for the new project as it progresses, but only by a small percentage.

The existing Weatherly Drive VA Clinic isn’t going away. It will transition to a VA facility for physical, medical and rehabilitation services, such as physical therapy.

Location of the VA Clinic

As for the location of the new development, it’s not yet been determined. However, VA representatives have visited multiple locations.

At least two possible sites have been publicly discussed: A location the city recently annexed just north of Exit 4, and a property that Rudy Johnson is proposing for rezoning between Clarksville High School and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.

That second location is on the same property that Johnson proposed in a plan to create a new road that would connect Memorial Drive Extension to MLK Parkway. The proposed road would run alongside the VA Clinic site.

Johnson asked the City of Clarksville to consider his $4.5 million plan as an alternative to the Memorial Drive Extension widening project. He said that this development would help save over $20 million and help with traffic congestion in the area.

However, the City of Clarksville sent a statement to Clarksville Now saying, “The final cost for this proposed alternate road on Mr. Johnson’s property would be higher than the $4.5 million figure that was suggested.

“Notably, there are several sinkholes along the suggested alternate route that would be expected to inflate the cost. Besides that, sidewalks and street lighting may add to the cost. This proposed road had already been evaluated previously by the city and ruled out as a viable or credible option to move and alleviate traffic.”

Final site selection should take place over the next year, according to Renfrow. The next step is to put out requests for proposals to build the clinic.

VA Clinic at BACH

The VA has noticed the high demand they have in the Clarksville area, which is why they have also partnered with Fort Campbell to open a VA primary care clinic in the Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.

“This clinic will immediately allow us to bring in about 5,000 veterans onto a primary care team,” Renfrow told Clarksville Now. “This will help ease some of our access challenges there and serve as one of our strategies to bridge the gap between now and the building in 2027. We are very thankful for the command on Fort Campbell. We couldn’t be doing this without them.”

The primary care clinic at Blanchfield is set to open in October this year.

Health services to be offered

Wherever it’s located, Clarksville’s new planned multi-specialty clinic will have services such as primary care, expansion of their Patient-Aligned Care Team, mental health resources and specialty care for things such as audiology and ophthalmology, according to Renfrow.

In addition, the clinic plans to provide and rotate other specialty care options based on demand. These could include dietary, physical therapy and a whole health clinic with chiropractic work, yoga and tai chi.

Renfrow noted a women’s health clinic will be on site, so they meet the demand for women veterans, who make up the VA’s largest growing population.

“This would allow us to expand care to about 35,000 veterans in Montgomery County and additional veterans in surrounding areas,” Renfrow said. “Having more primary care and specialty care in and around the Clarksville area will make it so veterans have more options. So, for example, if there is a specialty care that a veteran needs, we can put that specialty care closer to that veteran.

“This would make it where they won’t have to drive to, say, Nashville to get that care. This will allow for us to massively expand our footprint and deliver services that meet the demand that we’re going to have in 2030 and beyond.”

While the new multi-specialty clinic is scheduled to open in 2027, the VA clinic would not see patients until 2028, according to Renfrow.

Event coming up on veteran benefits

Meanwhile, with the one-year anniversary of the PACT Act coming up, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System will be hosting an event at the Wilma Rudloph Event Center on Aug. 10.

During the event, the healthcare group will encourage veterans and their families to apply for PACT Act-related benefits, according to previous reports. Veterans can enroll with the VA, file a claim, then be screened for toxic exposures and engage with VA programs.

“Veterans who file a claim by Aug. 9, 2023, may have their claim backdated to Aug. 10, 2022, the day the bill was signed into law,” according to a previous news release. “Additionally, veterans who served after the Persian Gulf War are encouraged to enroll in VA by Sept. 30, 2023, for PACT Act-related health care.”