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14 Worcester Business Journal | December 7, 2020 | wbjournal.com F O C U S V E T E R A N S I N T H E W O R K P L A C E e planned $75M Veterans Affairs facility at UMass Medical School is meant to solve long- standing problems of providing care to veterans BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor A new era for veteran health care PHOTOS/COURTESY OF UMASS MEDICAL SCHOOL B y the middle of 2021, Worcester-area veterans will have a new, larger space to receive care close to home. A $75-million Veterans Affair healthcare facility on the edge of the UMass Medical School campus in Worcester will total about 50,000 square feet, far larger than a nearly 30,000-square-foot site on Lincoln Street where veterans now receive outpatient care. at facility served 9,000 veterans and a total of 36,000 appointments in fiscal 2019. e new clinic will have 65 exam, consultation and procedure rooms, and offer specialty care in areas including radiology, echo-cardiology, physical and occupational therapy. A clinical laboratory and pharmacy will be included, along with dedicated parking for patients and staff. A larger and better equipped center for veterans has been a long time coming, according to VA, UMass Medical School and other officials who spoke last year at the announcement of the new facility. UMass Medical School Chancellor Michael Collins said then the medical school has long felt a sense of urgency to help in a partnership with the VA reduce wait times and improve access to care for veterans. 9 million patients Veteran care is a big business in Massachusetts and nationally. Massachusetts has more than 320,000 veterans, and 65,000 receive disability compensation, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. More than 130,000 Massachusetts veterans are enrolled in the VA healthcare system, and more than 9 million nationally. In 2017, 86,000 veterans were treated for health A new Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic will fill about half of a new four-story building that's slated to open in mid- 2021 at the edge of the UMass Medical School campus in Worcester. UMass Medical School Chancellor Dr. Michael Collins signed a beam before it was lifted into place atop the new building.