Page 34 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2018- Online Magazine

HONORING SENIORS

VETERAN General Mittemeyer said, “Veterans will see the Lubbock VA
Super-clinic as their own. They can be treated in a facility that
will honor their service to our country and realize that they are
appreciated. The VA has done a great service in letting us go
SUPER-CLINIC forward with this new facility.”
NEXT PROJECT-NATIONAL CEMETERY
UPDATE Lubbock,Texas is the geographical center of 73,215
veterans in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico. The
closest National Veterans Cemetery is over 300 miles
from Lubbock. The Veterans Administration built and
maintains 135 veteran cemeteries in the United States,
PROMISES KEPT but as the attached map of all veteran cemeteries in
the U. S. shows, none have been built in West Texas
or Eastern New Mexico. Please help us by contacting
by Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Gary G. Harber your U.S. congressman.
by Maj.Gen (Ret.) Edgar Murphy

n 2009, Lt. Gen. Bernard Mittemeyer organized a committee
with the intent to secure a better VA clinic for the veterans in
Iand around Lubbock. He called on fellow retired generals,
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Edgar Murphy, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Walter
Huffman and Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Gary Harber. They were joined
by several others in the community. After years of hard work,
the Department of Veterans Affairs awarded the amount of
$12,344,788.80 in October 2018. A contractor has been hired, the
project architect being a Texas Tech graduate. The new clinic
will be located on the northwest corner of 4th Street and Indiana
Avenue.

The beautiful 121,000 sq. ft. facility will have 635 parking
spaces. The location will provide easy access and adequate
space for veterans and family members. The super-clinic
will offer multiple services so that veterans will not have to
drive to Amarillo or Albuquerque for treatment. Particular
emphasis will be placed on treating traumatic brain injuries
and post-traumatic stress (PTS). Primary care, physical therapy,
dermatology, podiatry, orthopedics, dental and special care
services will also be available. Because TTUHSC is just across
the street, veterans will also have access to their services and
equipment. Many physicians and residents at the medical
school will be involved in caring for veterans.

Preliminary plans are underway, and the groundbreaking
ceremony will be held when the prelims are finalized, possibly
in mid-2019. An estimated 30,000 veterans live in the Lubbock
area; however, only around 8,000 currently use the VA facility.
Of the 323,000 vets in the Texas/Eastern New Mexico region,
only 167,000 are enrolled in the VA system. If you are a veteran,
it is important that you go down to the current VA clinic and
sign up. Funding is determined by numbers, and you will be
helping your fellow servicemen and women by giving the VA a
more accurate accounting of our numbers.

Many people helped to make this project happen, including
former U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller,
(Chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee), U.S. Rep.
Jodey Arrington, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, former Texas Tech
Chancellor Kent Hance, TTUHSC President and current Texas
Tech Chancellor Dr. Tedd Mitchell, Mr. Ted Welch, Phil Price
and many others.

34 Lubbock Senior Link