CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to move and expand its Charleston medical clinic, but an exhaustive year-and-a-half search hasn't turned up a single suitable site.

The VA had hoped to open a new 10,000-square-foot outpatient clinic earlier this year.

"We just tried and tried," said Pat Tabor, clinic manager in Charleston. "We just haven't found anything suitable. We're very frustrated by it."

The existing 5,700-square-foot clinic - beside the Bob Evans restaurant in Kanawha City - serves about 7,000 veterans a year, providing routine primary care and mental health services.

VA officials want to lease a new single-floor facility with 75 parking spaces. The site must be within five miles of downtown Charleston and near a Kanawha Regional Transit Authority bus stop.

The new clinic would serve about 10,000 veterans a year. The VA plans to add imaging services at the new site.

"We were hoping to find something already built, but we haven't had a lot of interest," Tabor said.

The clinic will employ four doctors and serve veterans from as far away as Princeton and Bluefield to the south and Clarksburg to the north.

The number of outpatient veterans who use the Charleston outpatient clinic has nearly tripled since 1998.

"We just need a little more space not only to accommodate patients, but so we can increase our staff," Tabor said. "We're still holding out hope something will materialize."

The VA opened its first Charleston-based outpatient medical clinic at St. Francis Hospital in 1998.

Two years later, the clinic moved to its current quarters on Alex Lane in Kanawha City.

For information about the VA's search for a Charleston clinic site, contact Melissa Atkins at 304-429-6755 ext. 2919.

Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 348-4869.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to move and expand its Charleston medical clinic, but an exhaustive year-and-a-half search hasn't turned up a single suitable site.

The VA had hoped to open a new 10,000-square-foot outpatient clinic earlier this year.

"We just tried and tried," said Pat Tabor, clinic manager in Charleston. "We just haven't found anything suitable. We're very frustrated by it."

The existing 5,700-square-foot clinic - beside the Bob Evans restaurant in Kanawha City - serves about 7,000 veterans a year, providing routine primary care and mental health services.

VA officials want to lease a new single-floor facility with 75 parking spaces. The site must be within five miles of downtown Charleston and near a Kanawha Regional Transit Authority bus stop.

The new clinic would serve about 10,000 veterans a year. The VA plans to add imaging services at the new site.

"We were hoping to find something already built, but we haven't had a lot of interest," Tabor said.

The clinic will employ four doctors and serve veterans from as far away as Princeton and Bluefield to the south and Clarksburg to the north.

The number of outpatient veterans who use the Charleston outpatient clinic has nearly tripled since 1998.

"We just need a little more space not only to accommodate patients, but so we can increase our staff," Tabor said. "We're still holding out hope something will materialize."

The VA opened its first Charleston-based outpatient medical clinic at St. Francis Hospital in 1998.

Two years later, the clinic moved to its current quarters on Alex Lane in Kanawha City.

For information about the VA's search for a Charleston clinic site, contact Melissa Atkins at 304-429-6755 ext. 2919.

Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 348-4869.