BURNS – About two years after a public meeting in which area veterans pressed for a clinic of their own, that clinic is up and running.

The Burns-Hines Veterans Administration (VA) Clinic officially opened in the newly remodeled Racine Building on Jan. 19. Steve Bull is the clinic manager and social worker of the facility, which serves veterans from Grant and Harney counties as well as part of Malheur County.

The clinic consists of three exam rooms, a blood draw room, mental health office and a group meeting room. A minor procedure room has the equipment to perform EKG scans as well as bladder scans.

The VA Clinic hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dr. Tom Fitzpatrick and LPN Diane Brinkley see patients each Monday and Tuesday.

Registered Nurse Steve Hagan sees patients Monday through Friday, which Bull said extends the clinic’s ability to handle medical questions when Dr. Fitzpatrick is not there.

Bull said that most of the clinic’s lab tests are sent to Boise for processing, though if there is an urgent problem with a patient, those labs can be sent to the local hospital for a quicker turn around. In the same vein, patients requiring X-rays or other services are referred to the Boise VA Clinic, unless there is an urgent need.

In addition to offering medical and mental health services, the clinic also offers health education programs to help veterans lose weight, stop smoking and learn about diabetes.

In October 2007, representatives from the VA visited Burns to see how much interest there was in starting a clinic here. Burns was one of several sites under consideration. The representatives expected a turnout of six to 10 veterans and were surprised when more than 200 showed up to voice support for a local clinic.

As a result, the Burns clinic was created and started seeing patients in September 2008 at the High Desert Medical Center.

Now, with the Racine Building remodeled to fit the specifications of the VA clinic model, the region’s veterans have a clinic of their very own.

“A lot of veterans have been waiting for this clinic to exist,” Bull said. “There are a lot of things that the local doctors can handle.”

Having local care available eliminates some of those long trips to Bend or Boise, which is convenient especially in the winter time.

“This is a big thing in the community in terms of taking care of people and honoring veterans,” Bull said.

The clinic is located at 271 N. Egan in Burns. For more information, veterans can call the clinic at 541-573-3339.

(This article is excerpted and reprinted with permission from the Burns Times-Herald.)