VA clinic moving from mall to Crossroads Center
March 14, 2019
Rick Shrum
Observer Reporter
At a crossroads, the Veterans Administration selected Crossroads.
Seeking a larger space for its Washington County outpatient center, the VA decided upon the Crossroads Center in downtown Washington. The move to 95 W. Beau St. is short, about two miles from its current location, Washington Crown Center, where it has been a tenant for more than a decade.
But this is a strategic relocation, as the VA facility will more than double the operating space it had at the mall. It will occupy the entire second floor of the Crossroads Center, about 22,000 square feet.
“We added services, so we needed a bigger space,” VA spokeswoman Sheila Tunney said. “We saw about 4,600 (different) individuals at that clinic (last year), and not just Washington County veterans.”
Those new services include limited audiology services and more telehealth spaces.
There will be convenient access for veterans and visitors. They will be able to enter the clinic from the fourth floor of the city parking garage thanks to a pedestrian bridge, which is under construction.
This also is a quick relocation, as VA staffers will begin to serve patients April 1 – in less than three weeks.
Valor, the new operator of the clinic, submitted the bid for Crossroads Center.
This relocation will be another blow for Crown Center, which in recent years has absorbed the departures of Macy’s, Gander Mountain, Bon Ton and Payless Shoe Source. However, Civil Knox, general manager of the North Franklin Township mall, said that once several new tenants are on board – by the end of this month – the mall will be at 88 percent occupancy.
Washington County has had a VA outpatient facility since 2001. VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System runs that and four other regional clinics: in Fayette, Beaver and Westmoreland counties and Belmont County in Ohio. The system also operates the University Drive and H.J. Heinz III medical centers in Pittsburgh.
Referring to the new Washington site, Barbara Forsha, interim director of VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, said in a statement: “We are thrilled to begin serving our veterans in this state-of-the-art clinic. The larger space lets us add face-to-face services and to expand telehealth, where a provider in Pittsburgh or another location uses video technology to see and treat a patient.”
Although the clinic will be open for business April 1, a grand opening and open house is scheduled for May 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. A veterans town hall will follow at 5 p.m. at American Legion Post 175, 168 Park Ave., Washington.
Veterans can check on their eligibility and enrollment status by calling 412-822-2040. For more information on VA care, visit pittsburgh.va.gov and facebook.com/vaphs.