FAIRLEA, W.Va. — More than 1,700 veterans served by the Veterans Administration clinic in Greenbrier County now have a local facility to receive care. The temporary V-A clinic at Fairlea opened its doors Tuesday. Local vets in need of care were having to drive to Beckley after the old facility at Maxwelton was closed last year.
“This is a 3,600 foot modular clinic that has been brought in to serve as a temporary clinic while we are in the process of working on a replacement clinic,” said V-A Public Information Officer Debbie Voloski.
The V-A has entered into a lease agreement on a building in Lewisburg which will eventually become the permanent home of the local V-A healthcare services. For now, Voloski said the modular facility serves a need and is more convenient.
“I think it will be very well received,” she said. “It will offer primary care, mental health, we have a lab there where labs will be drawn and brought over to the medical center to be processed, but they won’t have to drive over here (Beckley) for lab work.”
Officials are now in the design phase for the new facility in Lewisburg. Work to draw up the proper schematics to meet the needs of the clinic is underway. Voloski said the timeline for opening the new permanent clinic is about eight months.