CALDWELL -- In an effort to improve service to veterans across Idaho, the VA Medical Center has opened their doors to yet another clinic in the Treasure Valley.
The VA held an open house Friday at the brand new Caldwell location.
This is the second VA clinic to open in the last two months.
Directors with the VA say it's all about accessible service for the veterans who need it most.
A lot easier, it makes things a lot easier, said Robert Keavny.
Keavny is a post commander for the American Legion in Homedale. Part of his responsibility is making sure vets in his area have a ride to get medical care.
Access to health care has always been a struggle, said Keavny.
But not anymore says Keavny now that the VA has opened the doors to a larger clinic in Caldwell.
Now, being right here in Caldwell, when people from Homedale say their going to town, they're talking about going to Caldwell, so having it in Caldwell is fantastic, said Keavny.
There was an existing VA clinic in Caldwell, but it was too small and couldn't keep up with demand.
We actually outgrew that clinic, so the need was to build a larger size facility that we could essentially bring in more veterans, treat more veterans on a day to day basis, said Josh Callihan, Boise VA Hospital.
And that's exactly what they expect to do.
This clinic serves a huge geographical chunk of veterans that live in this area and this community, said Callihan.
The newest clinic will be able to serve 100,000 vets from the surrounding area. Keavny says it will save him time from having to drive to the Boise VA Center and make sure the vets he looks after get the health care they need and deserve.
This cuts the trip in half and some of these guys can even take themselves now, lots of times they wouldn't go to the doctor, now they might, now they just might, said Keavny.
Right now the clinic is just a primary care facility, but officials say in the future they could expand services to more specialized services.
On Tuesday, there was open house for a new VA clinic in Mountain Home. The clinic opened last month.
In Elmore and Owyhee counties there are about 8,000 veterans. The new clinic eliminated a long commute for veterans to Boise VA.
