GILLETTE -- Quality health care is important to World War II veteran Chester Haagensen.

The 85-year-old Gillette resident is a regular patient of the Gillette Veterans Administration Clinic. He said he is more than pleased with the care he receives and is excited about the clinic's recent relocation to a larger facility.

Haagensen is impressed with the expanded space, new amenities, technology upgrade for practitioners and patients and enhanced quality of care from the staff he has already grown to love.

"They take care of the veterans and I think that's wonderful," Haagensen said. "I love the help out there."

The Gillette VA Clinic now serves almost 1,000 patients a year after opening about 10 years ago.

"It's just grown significantly. The other clinic was just getting too small," said Jackie Van Mark, public affairs specialist for the Sheridan VA Medical Center. "It wasn't very comfortable and didn't really meet the needs of the staff and patients."

The new $2 million facility, which opened in September, was built by the Marna Kuehne Foundation, which provides funding to help veterans in northeast Wyoming. The Gillette VA Clinic, which leases the new building from the foundation, sports additional exam rooms, a small procedure room, a mental health room, and video conferencing abilities. The new technologies are just part of the Veterans Administration's goal of being on the forefront of medical advances.

"We have a lot more video conferencing capability that previously was very limited," Van Mark said.

Patients now are able to attend health support groups via teleconference and undergo pre-operation exams with doctors around the state or across the country.

"Video conferencing is enabling us to reach more people," Van Mark said.

Additionally, Gillette will become a permanent stop for the mobile MRI unit that is shared between Sheridan and some of the other outpatient clinics in the state. At Gillette's old clinic, there just wasn't enough room for the mobile unit, Van Mark said. Now with additional space, patients will no longer have to make the drive to Sheridan for what Van Mark said is usually a quick test.

Van Mark said she hopes to attract more veterans to the clinic. There will be an open house and ribbon cutting from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday that will give residents an opportunity to see the new amenities.

Van Mark expects an additional doctor and staff will be added at some point.

"Once people start seeing the new clinic, it will grow," Van Mark said. "We want the current staff to get comfortable and see how it goes. It's new, clean and fresh. It will provide the patients with a better sense of well-being."

Statewide expansion

With almost 54,000 veterans living in Wyoming, reaching those in need of medical care is important, Van Mark said. Today, the Sheridan VA's outreach goes beyond the new facility in Gillette. Covering 15 counties, the Sheridan Veteran's Administration has outpatient clinics in Sheridan, Gillette, Casper, Riverton, Rock Springs and Powell and plans to open a community-based outreach clinic in Afton, as well as two tele-health clinics in Worland and Evanston in the coming months.

"Gillette was one of our first community-based outpatient clinics," Van Mark said. "We cover three-quarters of the state of Wyoming. It's very important that we provide care to some of these rural areas."

While setting up the new facility in Afton, Van Mark invited community veterans to enroll for veteran's benefits. Ninety-one patients signed up.

"Fifty were new to the VA," Van Mark said. "It was just too far for them to drive before."

Using the video conferencing capabilities, more of Wyoming's veterans will be able to access quality health care through the satellite clinics.

"With the video conferencing, we're able to go into these communities and provide that care," Van Mark said. "We have to be somewhat unique in how we care for our veterans."

In addition to the new outreach clinic and tele-health clinics, Rock Springs is also slated to get a new facility next month that will also double its square footage. Open for about four years, Van Mark said the Rock Springs clinic has already outgrown its current space.

"We opened the clinic and then we saw a dramatic increase in patients," Van Mark said. "We just needed more square footage and that's why they're going to a bigger facility."

Currently serving only about 22,000 of the 54,000 veterans living in Wyoming, Van Mark said her biggest fear is that the VA is missing someone who needs care, someone who has served the country through military service.

"Veterans live everywhere and that's our mission to care for those who were born to battle," Van Mark said. "We need to reach out to them. Just because they live there doesn't mean they don't need care. I think it's always a fear that there's somebody out there who doesn't know they could go to the VA if they need to."