Federal legislation calling for a major expansion of veteran health care benefits also authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to spend about $29.5 million to establish a new Baton Rouge outpatient clinic.
The Senate on Tuesday voted 86-11 to send the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (or PACT) Act to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it. The clinic could be housed in an existing space or in a new facility built to suit the VA’s needs.
U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, has been calling for replacing the existing clinic since he took office in 2015, chief of staff Paul Sawyer says. The current Essen Lane facility has for years been among the top 15 on the VA’s list of clinics that should be replaced, and at one point was at the top of that list, he says.
“This is going to result in better care for our veterans,” Sawyer adds.
Combining the two separate physical and mental health care facilities on Essen into one updated campus will expand services for Capital Region veterans, Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Joey Strickland says.
“East Baton Rouge Parish has the highest number of veterans of any parish in our state, and we want to ensure these veterans receive the very best medical care possible,” Strickland says in a prepared statement to Daily Report.
Assuming the president signs the bill, the federal government will advertise for almost 88,000 square feet of space (compared to the current 58,295 square feet) in the Baton Rouge market, Sawyer says. Options could include a facility that’s ready to move into, a building that needs renovation, or build-to-suit new construction that the feds would lease.
Phil Walls, public affairs officer with the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, which oversees the Baton Rouge VA clinic, says he cannot comment on the still-pending legislation.
Read More: Veterans health care bill includes $29.5M for new Baton Rouge VA clinic