Representatives from local, state and federal government officially opened the new Veterans Affairs Clinic in Mishawaka Friday.
“First let me welcome you to Mishawaka where it’s always sunny and 72,” Mishawaka Mayor David Wood joked during the opening ceremony.
Senator Joe Donnelly said the typical weather of the area was one impetus of bringing the facility to the Michiana area.
“Our vets in South Bend, and Mishawaka, and LaPorte, and Plymoth often in the wintertime had to make dangerous trips to Fort Wayne or Chicago...those days are over.”
The new clinic offers a lot of specialty care that used to require travel.
Work to bring the $38 million facility to Mishawaka started about a decade ago, though all construction has happened in the last two years.
Congresswoman Jackie Walorski said beyond providing care for local veterans the clinic is also an example for veterans care nationwide.
“This isn’t just a facility for health care, this is a new icon for the nation to look at and say this is what happens when a community comes together and fights for veterans.”
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttegieg said that the clinic delivers on a promise to veterans.
“What you ought to be able to expect is that whenever it is that you come home this country, this society, this community will take care of you. That is a simple promise that is made between our service members and our nation.”
The clinic has been open for some services for about two weeks, the full range of services from audiology to podiatry should be up and running by the end of the year.