Pasture land adjacent to the Sam’s Club on Lakeland Highlands Road has been selected as the site of a new Veterans Administration clinic that’s expected to be completed in 2024.
The outpatient clinic will offer 92,600 square feet of usable space and will replace a facility less than a quarter of its size on South Pipkin Road.
“The impact on Polk County veterans is incalculable, providing much more access to VA care without driving to Orlando or Tampa,” said City Commissioner Don Selvage, a retired Marine colonel who is active with the Polk County Veterans Council.
Selvage praised veterans council Chairman Gary Clark for his work in advocating for the clinic, which was approved by Congress in 2017, and he said he was happy the Lakeland Highlands site was chosen because of its proximity to the Polk Parkway.
The site is one of three that were under consideration by the General Services Administration for the clinic. The other two were on Kathleen Road near I-4 and off the Polk Parkway near Florida Polytechnic University.
The 25.6-acre Highlands Road site is currently owned by Holloway Park Foundation Inc. and is bordered on the north and west by Holloway Park, popular for its hiking and running trails.
It’s part of a corridor where more health services are planned. Orlando Health recently purchased 80 acres just south of the Polk Parkway and west of Lakeland Highlands Road. Immediate plans are for a free-standing emergency room and medical offices, and Orlando Health anticipates building a 120-bed hospital on the site that could be expanded to 360 beds.
The federal government awarded a a $112.17 million contract to build the VA clinic to PH LLC, doing business as Molasky Group of Cos. Inc., based in Las Vegas, Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.
When completed, the facility is expected to create 96 jobs, the newspaper reported.
A VA news release said the new clinic will include:
- Increased access to primary care
- Home-based primary care
- Increased access to mental health services
- Audiology (four booths)
- Eye clinic
- Multi-specialty, to include podiatry and home oxygen
- Physical therapy
- Prosthetics
- Lab
- Dispensing pharmacy
- Eligibility & enrollment office
- CT, X-Ray, mammography, MRI, and ultrasound.
Lakeland city commissioners last month approved land-use changes needed to allow placement of a clinic on the site. The vote was 6-1, with Commissioner Bill Read dissenting, saying he had concerns about traffic on Lakeland Highlands Road.
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This has been needed a long time. Looking forward to being able to go to appointments without having to find a ride to Tampa. With all my problems I’ve always had to go to Tampa
This will be a tremendous improvement!
I am a disabled veteran and appreciate the new clinic. having a eye/vision department.
This is a much-needed development that I’ve been eagerly anticipating. I’m excited about the prospect of being able to attend appointments without the hassle of finding transportation to Tampa. Given the challenges I’ve faced with my various issues, it has always been necessary for me to make the trip to Tampa in a blog post letmelivebetter wrote.