VA breaks ground on consolidated clinic for Baton Rouge veterans – WAFB

VA breaks ground on consolidated clinic for Baton Rouge veterans  WAFB

New facility will combine two existing sites and add services currently only available in New Orleans BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – More than 12,000 veterans in the Baton Rouge area will soon have an easier path to health care. The Department of Veterans Affairs broke ground Tuesday on a new consolidated clinic, combining services currently split between two sites. Ronald Crowley, a Marine Corps veteran who served in the infantry from 1969 to 1972, regularly uses the two VA clinics in Baton Rouge — one on Essen Lane and one on Anselmo. The clinics are about a 10-minute drive from each other, but veterans needing CAT scans, MRIs, or other mental health services currently have to drive 90 miles to the facility in New Orleans.

“We need all the support we can get,” Crowley said. “You know, veterans, our veterans are hurting. There’s not enough support.” Crowley said Louisiana is a supportive state for veterans, and Baton Rouge in particular has been a strong supporter. “As you get older, you don’t want to drive,” Crowley said. “You know, you get lost easier, you know, and it’s just not fun being on the road these days as you get older.” That is the idea behind the new Baton Rouge VA clinic. The two existing clinics in Baton Rouge will become one,