Special to the Daily Reporter

In its first 12 months of operation, Spirit Lake's Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) treated 2,184 veterans from northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota -- exceeding the expected 1,500 veterans in the clinic's initial year.

"The clinic has been very busy with patients," said Shirley Redmond, public affairs officer of Sioux Falls Veteran Affairs Medical Center. "It's been a very smooth year for us. I think that we've been warmly received by the community, and that was a very big blessing for the clinic."

After years of traveling to Sioux Falls, S.D. for basic health care, veterans from eight counties in Iowa and Minnesota began visiting the Spirit Lake CBOC July 2, 2007.

The 5,500 square foot clinic was originally estimated to treat 2,200 veterans in its second year. Dickinson County alone has approximately 1,800 veterans with an undetermined number seeking medical care at veteran's clinics. Out of the estimated 7,500 veterans in the eight counties to be serviced by the clinic, including Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, O'Brien and Osceola counties in Iowa and Jackson, Martin and Rock counties in Minnesota, the new clinic is expected to serve 3,800 within the next two years.

"The growth has just been unbelievable," said Kendra Thilges, Nurse Manager for the clinic. "We see in the area of 30-50 vets out of this building in a day... The vets are happy we're in the community, and we have a great relationship with all the county services in the area."

There are eight exam rooms, a medication room, a minor procedure room, a medication management-education room, a mental health/V-tel room, a group therapy room and a home base care nurse. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with the exception of federal holidays.

"From the youngest veteran returning from Baghdad to the oldest who served in World War II, (everyone) will be able to receive the best care in Spirit Lake," said Stephen R. DiStasio, Acting Director of the Sioux Falls VA Medical Center at last summer's dedication. "The VA has the highest quality care in the country."

Veterans still travel to Sioux Falls for more advanced procedures, but blood can be drawn in Spirit Lake and sent to its parent hospital for tests, easing travel expenses and time for local vets.

"CBOCs are the future -- we're bringing healthcare closer to the veterans' homes," Thilges said. "It's gone very well... our population is by the majority older veterans, but we're seeing a lot of the returning vets from Iraq and Operation Freedom."

One portion of the clinic that's been receiving national attention is the Home-Based Primary Care program (HBPC) in which staff members travel to veteran's homes within one hour of the clinic. These staff members will keep an eye on overall health, including chronic illnesses, and monitor the veteran's needs.

"We currently have 56 at home primary care patients right now," said Susan Willette, Nurse Practitioner for HBPC. "We have two RNs and one nurse practitioner, and they're adding a third RN. Then, we'll be looking at serving 70-75 patients.

As the first clinic to house HBPC, the Spirit Lake CBOC is part of Vision 23 -- an initiative bringing medical care to veterans' homes in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa.

"It's been great," Willette said. "Now the Aberdeen clinic has put in HBPC since then, and they're looking at expanding to other clinics.

Different from Medicare, HBPC strives to help veterans become more active in the communities and does not home bound its patients.

The VA Outpatient Clinic is located in the strip mall east of Hy-Vee in Spirit Lake.

* For more information contact the clinic at (712) 336-6400.