by Michael Howell
Senator Jon Tester’s office announced last week that Hamilton was going to receive a new veterans health clinic five times bigger than the one currently occupied on Fairgrounds Road.
A dozen years ago Tester, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee at the time, was at the forefront of the efforts to increase the VA budget to fund the creation of new health clinics in rural areas around the state. Hamilton was one beneficiary of that funding and it led to the establishment of the first VA Health Clinic in Hamilton in 2010 and the fruits of those efforts are still paying off with new facilities opening in eight new locations just over the last three years in Fort Harrison in Helena, Missoula, Miles City, Bozeman, Great Falls, Havre, and two in Butte.
Tester currently serves as Chairman on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and was the only member of the Montana congressional delegation to vote in support of funding for the new facility in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2022.
“This is good news for Hamilton-area veterans who can look forward to a brand-new, state-of-the-art clinic to access the VA care and benefits they earned right here at home,” said Tester. “I’m proud to have helped secure this new facility as part of my ongoing push to expand veterans’ access to health care across Montana, and I’ll be working closely with the community and VA to ensure this project stays on track.”
The Hamilton clinic is set to receive about $2.4 million for improvements. The new building, which will be located at 1331 North 1st Street, Hamilton, will be more than 7,000 square feet—five times the size of the existing clinic—and will offer a range of services including lab, outpatient mental health therapy, telehealth, and PACT services (women’s health, pharmacist, dietitian, social work, and Primary Care-Mental Health Integration PC-MHI ).
PC-MHI is a team of mental health experts that coordinates with the rest of a veterans VA health team to deliver the best possible care. PC-MHI integrates mental health staff into each PACT, allowing your care team to provide services for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use without needing a separate consult with mental health providers outside of the PACT clinic area.
VA estimates the new clinic will deliver services to an additional 700 veterans.