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Somersworth Veterans Clinic in Limbo as VA Negotiates Move to Larger Space

Peter Biello
/
NHPR

The Department of Veterans Affairs says its Somersworth clinic will be moving to a larger space.

The Somersworth VA clinic is about 4,000 square feet.

The new clinic would be about 8,000 square feet and offer more primary care, mental health, and telehealth services, says Manchester VA Medical Center director Al Montoya.
Montoya says the lease on the current clinic in Somersworth, held by Frisbie Memorial Hospital, ends September 30, and it may have to be extended. The lease is still being negotiated, as is the contract for the new space.

Joe Shields, Senior Vice President at Frisbie, says the hospital is willing to work with the VA, "but we need more detail on what they're looking for." He says he hopes to receive more information this week.

Montoya says the VA can't share details of the new clinic's location while the negotiations are underway. 

A task force looking at the future of the Manchester VA had recommended in early drafts of its report that the Somersworth and Portsmouth VA clinics be combined.

That final report has not yet been released, but Montoya says that this effort is a "bridge" to that final goal.

Peter Biello is the host of All Things Considered and Writers on a New England Stage at New Hampshire Public Radio. He has served as a producer/announcer/host of Weekend Edition Saturday at Vermont Public Radio and as a reporter/host of Morning Edition at WHQR in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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