Nov. 14, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center announced the selection of a site location for the future Beaumont Veterans Affair (VA) Outpatient Clinic.
The new clinic, which was authorized and funded through the PACT Act, or Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, will be located at 3295 College St., formerly serving as the site of Kmart and Conn’s corporate office. The new clinic will be approximately 55,000 square feet, almost double the amount of space in the current Beaumont Outpatient clinic, and will reportedly offer additional medical services to accommodate more of the region’s veterans.
“We are excited to expand our services in Beaumont to provide our veterans with a modern health care clinic that caters to their needs,” said Frank Vazquez, Houston VA Medical Center director. “The more services we can offer in our new VA Clinic, the less the veterans will need to travel to Houston for specialty medical care.”
The current Beaumont clinic, located on 3420 Plaza Circle in Beaumont, offers an array of medical services including primary care, mental health care, radiology, dietetics, optometry, orthopedics, pharmacy, prosthetics and rehab, and much more.
The additional space at the new clinic site will allow the VA to bring more services, like physical therapy and ultrasound, to the area.
Construction is set to begin in the coming months to renovate and build the new clinic, with an anticipated opening date set for early 2027.
Earlier this year, Houston VA announced the beginning of a new shuttle service for Southeast Texas veterans needing transportation to the VA hospital in Houston for treatment. The shuttle service offers veterans a free ride to and from the Houston VA on weekdays. Veterans can catch the free shuttle each weekday morning at the Beaumont VA Outpatient Clinic.
“We are truly committed to ensuring our Southeast Texas veterans receive the top-quality healthcare they deserve as quickly and conveniently as possible,” said Vazquez, who is also a Navy veteran. “Our goal is to provide as much health care as possible to our Veterans here in Beaumont and our new clinic will allow us to expand and will be modern and updated. We can’t wait to get it up and running.”
Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan applauded the selection of the future Beaumont clinic location, following a yearslong effort as representative of House District 21 to expand medical services for Southeast Texas veterans.
Since 2020, Phelan has been highlighting the need for accessible health care for the region’s extensive veteran population to federal and congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. As part of efforts to improve access to health care for Southeast Texas veterans, Phelan traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with VA officials, worked with members of Congress on bringing more services to the region and issued a letter to President Donald Trump formally requesting a local VA medical facility.
“Veterans have demonstrated tremendous sacrifice for our nation and our freedoms, and they deserve to have access to convenient, high-quality medical care,” said Phelan. “For far too long, veterans in our community have had to travel great distances to receive the care they need, but this new updated clinic will be able to provide our local veterans with proper medical care right here in Beaumont. I want to thank the VA and members of Congress who met with me over the years to hear about the acute need for expanded medical services for Southeast Texas veterans, and I look forward to better health care access in our community.”