“We serve about 1,000 veterans a week,” Pamela Duncan said as she gave a tour of the Orangeburg Community Based Outpatient Clinic during the Sept. 16 grand opening. The total reflects in-person and virtual visits, she said.
On one side, there are offices for mental health practitioners – including a large room for group therapy.
On the other side, there are exam rooms and a section designated for lab work. Two of the exam rooms are dedicated to women’s health, Duncan said.
In the center, and out of the view of patients, is the nurses’ station – rows of computers and phones on desktops.
Duncan, a licensed practical nurse, said veterans not only come to the clinic from Orangeburg, but from places like Bamberg, Barnwell, Moncks Corner and elsewhere.
The Orangeburg outpatient office of the Columbia Veterans Affairs Health System used to be located in a 6,000-square-foot space off of Old St. Matthews Road.
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The new, $13.8 million center, located a 151 Magnolia Village Parkway, is nearly four times the size of the previous one at just under 24,000 square feet.
In September, the clinic held a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony. The clinic has been in operation for four months.
Columbia VA Health System CEO David Omura spoke at the standing-room only event held in the clinic’s lobby.
“This is the start of something very new here that’s going to help us provide better care to so many more veterans, not only today, but into the near future,” he said.
“What’s wonderful about the Orangeburg VA is it’s one of our seven outpatient clinics and it just happens to be one of four we’ve been working on bringing to fruition over the past few years. I’m happy to soon see this succeeded by three other facilities (elsewhere) in the next year and a half,” Omura said.
“It’s great to have more space for our veterans,” he added.
“The reason why it’s so important is that we not only want to be a location where our veterans come to receive the best health care anywhere, but we also want to be a location where we can partner with our local universities, with our local community groups, to help develop future leaders,” Omura said.
He said the clinic currently serves 3,000 veterans, “but when you think about how it’s growing in size, we should be able to provide much more care.”
“This is still a VA that’s populated predominately with a male population, which is great, but I’d love to see many more of our female veterans than there are presently,” he said.
“I can tell you by a women’s health perspective, we are rivaled by none,” he added.
The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday.
The main number at the clinic is 803-533-1335. The mental health care line is 803-776-4000 extension 2242.
Read More: Orangeburg gets new veterans clinic