Franklin VA Clinic Opens

At last: Franklin VA clinic opens By Colin McCandless
pressreporter@thefranklinpress.com
At a glance:
Opened Wednesday, Aug. 20.
Hours: Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Phone number: 828-369-1783
Location: 647 Wayah Street, Franklin.
Provides: Primary care, optometry and mental health services, by appointment only.
It's official: veterans of the region will no longer have to make the 70-plus mile trek to Asheville to receive primary care from the VA clinic. Now they have their own facility closer to home.
An estimated crowd of 700 people including veterans and their families, local, state and federal leaders and citizens gathered Aug. 18 to celebrate the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Franklin Community Based Outpatient Clinic.
The CBOC, which started serving patients Wednesday morning, is located at 647 Wayah Street across the street from Franklin High School.
Event festivities kicked off with music from the Franklin High School Marching Band followed by remarks from a variety of speakers, tours of the building and the ribbon cutting. Nikki Corbin and her mother Susan Pons sang the National Anthem.
Photo/Linda Mathias Surrounded by dignitaries, Senator Richard Burr cuts the ribbon for the grand opening of the new Veterans clinic in Franklin. Others shown are Graham Fields, Western Regional Director for Senator Elizabeth Dole; Gen. F.P. Bodenheimer, Ret., who donated the building for use as a clinic; Burr; Representative Heath Shuler, Susan Pendergrass, director of the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville; Daniel F. Hoffmann, director, VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network.
Keynote speaker Daniel F. Hoffman, director of the VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, VISN-6 (Veterans Integrated Services Network) quipped that probably every possible type of delay has affected this Franklin CBOC.
"I want to welcome you to the long-awaited CBOC," said Hoffman, whose Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network serves more than 300,000 veterans and averages 1.3 million outpatient visits a year. The network covers North Carolina, most of Virginia and portions of West Virginia and South Carolina.
"We are very proud to provide access to you closer to your homes."