New VA clinic coming to Hamilton

A new VA clinic with expanded services and significantly more space is in the works to better serve Bitterroot Valley veterans.

The new Hamilton clinic will cover more than 7,000 square feet — five times the size of the existing clinic — and offer a range of services including primary care, women’s health, outpatient mental health therapy, laboratory and telehealth services, according to a press release. The VA estimates the new clinic will deliver services to an additional 700 veterans.

"The Montana VA Health Care System is excited that the contract for a new VA clinic location in Hamilton has been awarded,” Dr. Judy Hayman, MTVAHCS executive director, said. "For more than 10 years, MTVAHCS has had a small VA clinic located in Hamilton. And while this location has served us well for many years, we have been seeing growth in the veteran population in and around Ravalli County and we have now outgrown our current space. With a new and larger location, we will be able to serve more veterans and offer expanded services to veterans in the Hamilton area.”

The clinic is currently in the early planning stages and a date for construction to begin has yet to be announced.

"The establishment of a new VA clinic in Hamilton is in the beginning design and planning phase, and it will be some time before veterans are seen in the new location. That said, we are very excited that this process is moving forward,” said Hayman.

Funding for the new facility was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2022. Senator Jon Tester, who sits on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, was the only member of the Montana congressional delegation to support the bill.

"This is good news for Hamilton-area veterans who can look forward to a brand-new, state-of-the-art clinic to access the VA care and benefits they earned right here at home,” Tester said in a press release. "I’m proud to have helped secure this new facility as part of my ongoing push to expand veterans’ access to health care across Montana, and I’ll be working closely with the community and VA to ensure this project stays on track.”

The Montana VA Health Care System has opened seven new clinics across the state within the last two years.

(Jess Abell is the editor of the Ravalli Republic.)