The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opened a new clinic in Rock Springs on Dec. 11. The new building is right down the street from the old location, with an additional 2,500 square feet of space and on-site physical therapy services.
The project broke ground last October and finished up before winter weather settled in this year. That’s thanks to the work of the Avens Group, a veteran-owned small business that also helped with an interior build-out of a VA outpatient clinic in Casper.
The previous Rock Springs location was leased and shared its building with other businesses. But the updated clinic is owned by the VA and was specifically built with considerations for patient mobility, like extra-wide hallways. It also features updated medical equipment and more advanced telehealth services.
The VA is in the process of hiring a new physical therapist for the Rock Springs clinic, with the hope that the position will start within the next few months. The new dedicated physical therapy space means veterans will no longer have to be referred out to other community providers to receive that care.
Bret Zowada works as the physical medicine rehab service chief for the Sheridan VA. He said in-house care equals shorter wait times and cuts down on the need for telehealth.
“ This will allow an in-person, live body to be able to evaluate the person and provide them with the functional assessments that we need to keep these veterans moving and going,” he said.
Zowada said the new room will feature a recumbent exerciser, which allows people to sit down and work on their cardiovascular endurance, as well as parallel bars to focus on vestibular imbalance training.
“ Another thing that we have in our clinic is [what] we call vestibular goggles. It allows us to assess the inner ear function, which can contribute to vestibular issues,” said Zowada. “With those goggles, we can actually diagnose certain impairments that physical therapists can correct to help reduce dizziness and nausea if it's related to an inner ear impairment.”
Zowada said on-site physical therapy at the new location also means that veterans who need powered wheelchairs or scooters can do their driving assessments in Rock Springs, rather than driving to Casper or Sheridan.
“ At this clinic, we are going to have both devices, a power chair and a scooter, to where we can get them the most appropriate power mobility device sooner so that they can have a better quality of life and won't have to wait longer to receive those pieces of equipment,” he said.
Kristina Miller is a public affairs officer for the Sheridan VA and served in the Navy.
“ I feel like it's always a good thing to increase services available to our veterans, but especially now, with money being tighter,” she said. “Healthcare is one of those topics that can be difficult when you're talking about folks that are retired or lower-income.”
Unlike private insurance, veterans can enroll for coverage through the VA at any time, with no extra enrollment fees or deductibles. However, veterans may have co-pays for certain types of care.
“But if you're one of those lucky folks that is pretty healthy and doesn't go to the doctor very often, you're not paying for insurance that you may not need to use in a given year like you would for [private] insurance,” said Miller.
She added that veterans enrolled with the VA can go to any location around the country, with Rock Springs serving as a good launch pad for people needing more advanced care.
“ People can still enjoy the rural aspect of being in Wyoming, but access those kinds of specialties very easily by a pretty short drive, in Wyoming terms, down to Salt Lake [City],” she said.
According to a press release from the Rock Springs clinic’s groundbreaking last year, 2,697 veterans were enrolled with the VA there in 2024. Miller said she hopes the new expanded clinic will help that number grow.
“ As a veteran myself, it would really hurt my soul to think that there's veterans out there who have to make financial decisions about whether to have healthcare or pay their mortgage or rent or vehicle costs,” she said. “I just want to make sure that information is out there so that they're informed about an option that they may not have pursued.”
