A new health clinic for veterans in Casper has room to serve more veterans after moving to a new location. The community-based outpatient clinic is a part of the Sheridan VA Health Care System.
The clinic is almost double the size of the previous one. It now includes more space for patients to use telehealth and connect with providers at the main health care system in Sheridan and in other hubs like Denver.
Tanya Morrison, the clinic's manager, said while they have had telehealth access to doctors and other services amidst the pandemic, more veterans are willing to participate, and these new upgrades will make it easier.
"That's how they have to get this care now. And it's really been a good thing though because patients are starting to realize we can do things through those types of devices that were leery about in the past," she said.
With the new building, they have also added a new physical therapy office, something they didn't used to have room for in the clinic.
Morrison said the clinic will now be able to increase its services and the number of veterans they can serve, including more home-based care options.
"We have now got a nurse practitioner, two nurses, a physical therapist, a dietician, a pharmacist, a social worker, all of those individuals who actually go out into the patient's home and see them," she said.
With the expectation that they can serve more veterans, Morrison said the new clinic also has plenty of room for an additional healthcare provider to join the clinic if the need arises. She said now providers at the clinic serve more than 2,000 patients. Since the pandemic started, several VA clinics within the Sheridan VA system opted to take appointments over telehealth. Morrison said the Casper clinic is now able to operate in-person at about 75 percent capacity.
"But the key to that is we encourage veterans to call and make appointments. We don't want people just walking into the clinic. That just doesn't set us up for getting them the best care that we can," she said.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at cwheel11@uwyo.edu.