Ground broken for larger VA clinic

New facility will offer primary care, mental health care, radiological services, laboratory services and a pharmacy

Lufkin's representatives in Washington, D.C., were on hand as ground-breaking ceremonies for Lufkin's new VA Outpatient Clinic, named after former Congressman Charlie Wilson, were held at the clinic's future location on the West Loop Friday morning.

Joel Andrews/The Lufkin Daily News (enlarge photo) The first shovels of dirt are turned Friday at the site of the new Charlie Wilson VA Outpatient Clinic on West Loop 287. Present for the event were, from left, Dr. Anthony Zollo, director of the Lufkin facility, Gail Green representing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, County Judge Wes Suiter, Congressman Louie Gohmert, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lufkin Mayor Jack Gorden, construction manager Don Langston and Edgar Tucker, director of the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who serves on the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee, and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert participated in the event, both commenting on veterans, Wilson and Pearl Harbor Day, upon which day the ceremonies were held.

Gohmert compared today's soldiers to George Washington, saying they do the same thing that Washington did when he gave up his power after winning the Revolutionary War.

"They have fought valiantly, and then they've turned in their fighter jets, their bombers, their tanks, their weapons of all kinds and come home," Gohmert said. "All they ask is 'Give us a little help with our medical problems', and that certainly is not too much to ask."

Hutchison echoed Gohmert in saying that the nation's veterans deserved all America could give them.

"We owe everything to you," Hutchison said. "Our freedom is due to your sacrifices."

Although Wilson regretted not being able to make it to the ceremony, Hutchison assured everyone he would be there at the ribbon cutting. She described Wilson as full of flair, spirit and a fun-loving nature but also a committed patriot to his country and joked about the book and the movie to come out later this year.

"Every American will know who Charlie Wilson is, and they will think he looks like Tom Hanks," Hutchison joked.

Gohmert shared that when he talked to Wilson after his recent heart transplant surgery, Wilson told him that while he'd been lying in the hospital bed he'd come up with several ideas on how to help the troops.

"I know that doesn't surprise you at all that Charlie was lying in bed, having time to think, that he thought about our troops," Gohmert said. "We know that veterans had a great friend in Charlie Wilson during the years he served in the U.S. Congress."

The new clinic, which is expected to be completed in early 2009, will be located at 2206 N. John Redditt Drive and be approximately 46,000 square feet. The facility will offer primary care, mental health care, radiological services, laboratory services and a pharmacy for all East Texas veterans. Plans to design and construct the new facility began in Spring 2006. The old facility is divided into two buildings — one for primary care and the other for mental health problems.

"While they work hard and they do their best to serve our veterans, that building'direcs no longer able to meet all of the needs that we have and do it as well as we want to do it," Edgar Tucker, director of the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, said of the current VA clinic in Lufkin. "For Dr. Zollo and all of his staff that are here, we're excited that we're going to be creating a new facility for you to be able to continue your great service."

When Don Langston with Don Langston Construction, the construction company chosen to build the facility, approached Hester and Sanders Architecture to help with the design of the facility, Keith Hester said he couldn't believe he wanted an architecture company that had been in existence for such a short time to design the facility.

"We were extremely flattered that Langston Construction had that much confidence in us," Hester said.