ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Veterans in the Lehigh Valley soon will have a new behavioral health center.
Behavioral health services offered through the Allentown Veterans Affairs clinic on May 1 will move to a new location on the fourth floor of the Roma Corporate Center on Cedar Crest Boulevard.
- A new Veterans Affairs Behavioral Health Center will open May 1 on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Allentown
- The location will accommodate the growing mental health needs of area veterans
- The Allentown VA clinic serves about 9,000 veterans in the Lehigh Valley
“This space is about 7,700 square feet, so it does give us some opportunity to expand the services even for behavioral health in this location,” said Russel Lloyd, medical center director at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center.
The Allentown VA Clinic is a satellite office of the VA Medical Center. Lloyd said the local office serves about 1,700 patients needing attention for their psychological well-being.
“A lot of our veterans do have behavioral health issues related to their time in active-duty military service and that's going to have an impact on their physical health as well," he said.
"They have given so much to the nation and in return, they also got lot of things in terms of their lifestyle, their struggle and their hardships.”Dr. Aparna Tamaskar, Chief, community based outpatient clinics service
It "also has a very significant impact on their relationships and their interpersonal life.” He said in total, the Lehigh Valley location serves about 9,000 veterans.
“Veterans are very special," said Dr. Aparna Tamaskar, chief of community-based outpatient clinic service.
"They have given so much to the nation and in return, they also got lot of things in terms of their lifestyle, their struggle and their hardships.
“A lot of veterans I have seen, they have PTSD. A lot of veterans you can see depression, anxiety, a lot of other disorders, which definitely need attention and care very closely.”
A multi-dimensional approach
The VA is going to use the space vacated by behavioral health services to expand its specialties in the current location.
She said the mental health needs of their patients has outgrown the space.
“This is going to be a great opportunity to have a dedicated comprehensive Behavioral Health Center, so this clinic is going to work as a comprehensive set up for behavioral health," she said.
"It'll have a multi-dimensional approach to take care of the veterans and provide these services.”
“We're roughly 9,000 veterans being served at the Allentown clinic right now. Just because of the changing needs for health care of that patient population, we’re really stretched for space.”Russel Lloyd, medical director at the Wilkes-Barre Veterans Affairs Medical Center
The project is funded internally by Veterans Affairs, which also approved a plan to build a new VA clinic in Allentown twice the size of the Hamilton Boulevard location.
“We're roughly 9,000 veterans being served at the Allentown clinic right now," Lloyd said. "Just because of the changing needs for health care of that patient population, we’re really stretched for space.”
That project is in the early stages, but he said Veterans Affairs expects the behavioral health office to accommodate the needs of veterans for about five years before the new Allentown VA clinic is complete and all service can once again be under the same roof.
The Behavioral Health Center will open May 1st.
