Construction to begin on Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Medina County

MONTVILLE TWP. — Veterans who live in the Medina County area will be able to get their healthcare from a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Montville Township starting next year. Dave Chmielewski is the chief of community outpatient services for the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System. He said around two years ago, the VA Central Office gave formal approval to move forward with the project and planning started about four years prior. "(It will be a) 20,000-square-foot fully functioning outpatient clinic," he said. "It will be primary care, behavioral health, optometry, podiatry and laboratory. Then, there will be specialty care services on site, but we're still determining what we're going to bring here in terms of specialty care." The clinic will be built near Cobblestone Drive. Chmielewski said the plot of land has been cleared, and the goal is to open the facility in late spring or early summer 2027. Currently, Medina County veterans have to travel to places like Akron, Mansfield or Parma to receive care. He said the VA wanted to be a part of the Medina County community. "Being that Medina County is the fastest growing county within Northeast Ohio, it just made perfect sense," Chmielewski said. "Knowing that our veteran population of current users who were making those drives, it was just an opportunity that we couldn't let go any longer." There are more than 4,300 people from the Medina County area who currently use the VA healthcare system, he said. "I think we're going to see a lot more veterans within the area who come out and start using VA healthcare, which is wonderful and great for us and wonderful and great for them," Chmielewski said. "I think that's really what it boils down to is that we just want veterans to have access to healthcare at a place that is convenient to them." He encouraged any veteran who is interested in receiving healthcare services in Montville Township's VA outpatient clinic in the future to get in the system ahead of time and contact the VA if they have questions. "That doesn't mean that they couldn't walk through the doors on day one of this building being open," Chmielewski said. "We'd love to get them in the doors today and get them registered, so when this facility does open, they can be here as part of day one and receive care at a place that is way more convenient and closer to home for them." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.