VA Maine consolidates Saco and Portland clinics

PORTLAND — The Veterans Affairs Maine Healthcare System will open its doors on Monday to a new facility in Portland that will consolidate the Portland and Saco clinics and expand the range of services.

The VA Maine Healthcare System held a ribbon cutting Friday at the new facility, located at 141 West Commercial Street in Portland. The new outpatient clinic will open on Monday, replacing clinics at 144 Fore St. Portland and 655 Main St. Saco.

The new 62,500 square foot, energy efficient building has been a concept since 2010, said Tracye Davis, medical director for VA Maine Healthcare.

“This state-of-the-art facility will redefine how we provide care to veterans in southern Maine,” she said. “We have cultivated an environment here that fully embodies VA Maine’s mission to partner with veterans for body, mind and spirit.”

The new building has increased mental health services, including telemedicine; expanded specialty care services, dedicated space for medication and reflection for both employees and veterans, and special waiting areas for caregivers and families, said Davis.

New areas of care will include dental, podiatry and optometry, and new services will include surgical consultation, radiation and prosthetics, according to a written statement from VA Maine Healthcare. The clinic will also serve as a teaching site through a partnership with the Tufts Medical School and Maine Medical Center.

Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Donald Remy said the new facility is a model for clinics in the future.

“It’s about opening a space where we will fulfill our obligation and serve Vets as well as they’ve served us,” he said.

The clinic at West Commercial Street has a 150 space parking lot for staff and a 250-space parking garage for patients.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.