RAPID CITY, S.D. – Veteran health care in the Black Hills continues to evolve. Facilities in Sturgis and Hot Springs, SD continue to buck the trend of VA health facility closures while new Veterans Affairs medical facilities are being built – including one in Rapid City.
The most recent is construction on a nearly 50,000 square foot facility on the corner of Highway 16 and Catron Boulevard. It’s completion had been slowed during and after the pandemic but it is scheduled to open in the time allotted in the construction contract.
The VA Outpatient Clinic will replace an aging facility that was half the size of the new clinic. It can serve up to 7,000 patients. Services offered will include primary care, mental health care, physical therapy, audiology, pharmacy, lab services, and women’s care to meet the needs of the increasing female veteran population
According to Hani Shafai, president of Dream Design International that designed the new clinic, the facility provides a better environment and expanded services. He said the new Rapid City VA facility is also great community project.
The facility is set to open in August, and Shafai says he believes the location of the of the new facility is beneficial to veterans coming from other communities, because of the proximity to hospitality and commercial spaces.
