5 years in the making: West Texas VA Health Care System plans to expand Abilene Veteran services in 2026
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The West Texas VA Health Care System signed a new lease to bring a larger health care facility to Abilene area Veterans. Set to open in early 2026, the new center and will be located across from another medical office off US-277.
Executive Medical Center Director, Keith Bass, told KTAB/KRBC he knows the weight of impact a well-equipped facility will do, as a Veteran himself.
“We’ve been planning this for the last five years. There’s been a lot of folks we worked with to make this happen. This location is outstanding; we’re close to Dyess air force base, we’re close to our Veteran services organization, it’s central for our Veterans to get here, ease of access,” explained Bass.
One of the reasons behind the change is to accommodate an increase in the Veteran population, and offer quality care to meet those needs. The Abilene location currently is about 14,000 square feet, and the shell of this new facility is more than 35,000 square feet. With more than doubling the size of the office space, Bass said he expects to bring in more staff and offer more services than before.
“So, the drive time, the wait times, and the specialty services being offered all go into the mix on what we want to do to improve the health care of our Veterans,” Bass said.
Service Chief for facility and operations, Jennifer Epstein has seven years of experience at the Abilene facility, and she told KTAB.KRBC this upgrade comes at a crucial time.
“The space is absolutely needed. We’re making with what we have work for this time being, but we’re really excited for the future of the large addition to the care we are going to be able to provide with all the extra space. So, we’re very excited here,” elated Epstein.
Looking forward to being able to provide care for more patients, officials said the current facility has about 100 employees. Each one cares deeply about their patients and hopes to help even more.
“Just seeing the day-to-day changes, getting to interact with our Veterans, and providing the best care that we can,” Epstein listed what she anticipated. “We have a wonderful staff and nurses that love our Veterans, and we are excited to be there to serve them.”
While the facility undergoes a renovation, studies will determine what services will be provided to make an impact.
“We fully expect to evaluate radiology, state of the art dental, and other specialty services to bring in. But, we want to make sure we do a good, deep dive into what our Veterans need and what is that going to look like,” added Bass.
Right now, the project is in its early stages with design and planning. Those details should be complete by this fall, and by January 2025 construction is expected to begin. The new VA health center will be located at 560 Health Center Drive, across from Abilene Surgery Center, and is expected to open to our Veterans in early 2026.
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