VA facility to open Oct. 15 in Tomball

"There's a lot of veterans that I know who will definitely come here," said Aaron Isaac, a veteran who does the bookkeeping at Tomball VFW Post 2427. "Instead of driving 30 minutes on the road, now it's only five minutes. Also, it takes the pressure off the downtown and Conroe clinics. The wait time will be drastically reduced. There should be next to no wait at all here."

Tomball was chosen because of research and census data that indicated a large number of veterans lived in the area, according to the Houston VA. There are an estimated 46,000 veterans living in the greater Tomball area. The Houston VA estimated it would serve 8,000 veterans through its Tomball location in its first year.

"The goal for all these community-based clinics has been to provide as much care as possible closer to the veteran's homes," said Dr. Anna Teague, associate chief of staff for VA community-based clinics. "We are anticipating about 2,500 patients will automatically be transferring [to the Tomball clinic]."

One-third of the patients expected at the Tomball clinic will transfer from the VA's Conroe clinic, Teague said.

The Tomball clinic will offer services such as primary health care, mental health care, women's specialty care, phlebotomy, X-ray, teleretinal imaging, optometry and audiology services.

"Major surgery will have to be in Houston, but anything less than that, we will try to take care of them in Tomball," Teague said.

The VA has hired 42 of its initial 57 employees to run the clinic and is in the process of training some of those employees and transferring others from its Medical Center office in downtown Houston and its Conroe location.

The clinic will start with three and a half primary care teams. Each team includes a doctor, two nurses and a clerk, and the team cares for between 1,200 to 1,300 patients. The clinic expects to increase to seven and a half primary care teams soon after opening and to hire an additional 18 employees, Teague said.

The clinic entered a 20-year lease for the property in 2011 for $1 million per year. It will operate on taxpayer dollars.

"I think it's going to be a fantastic facility with lots of services," Teague said. "And we have room to grow there as well."

Veterans can enroll for care at www.va.gov, by calling 800-639-5137 or by visiting the clinic at 1200 W. Main St.

Additional reporting by Shawn Arrajj