The Brattleboro Community Based Outpatient Clinic on GSP Drive is one of seven in the Vermont Veterans Affairs system. File photo by Mike Faher/VTDigger This story by Briana Brady was first published in The Other Paper on Aug. 20, 2026. The Department of Veterans Affairs signed a 20-year leas e for a new outpatient clinic at Technology Park in South Burlington. The VA White River Junction Healthcare System expects the new clinic, which will replace the services it currently offers at its clinic in Burlington, to open to patients by 2030. “We’re anticipating that this is really going to improve access for veterans in all of northwestern Vermont,” said Carey Russ, the assistant director at VA White River Junction Healthcare. Right now, the clinic in Burlington serves about 3,300 veterans who live within a 30-minute drive. However, Russ said, there are around 7,900 veterans who live within a 60-minute drive of the new South Burlington location. The plan is to reach those veterans and connect them to healthcare services. The larger space — over 24,000 square feet — will allow the clinic to expand its services and see more patients. According to Russ, the Burlington clinic offers primary care and some specialties such as optometry and audiology. At Technology Park, the system plans to provide primary care as well as services for mental health, physical and occupational therapies, optometry and audiology. “One of the best parts about the Veterans Health Administration is that the care is all completely interwoven,” Russ said. Unlike civilian healthcare and insurance, the VA operates with a single system between providers, she said, making it easy to share documentation and communicate. Having those providers under one roof adds to the ease. The VA is especially focused on integrating mental health services into primary care, Russ said. According to research, veterans, especially those who have seen combat, experience much higher rates of conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. “We spend a lot of time trying to convince every veteran who’s eligible that, of course, they deserve the care that we can offer,” she said. “We just have different services, and our providers are trained differently than they are in the private sector, especially around mental health.” Beyond the larger physical space, Russ said, part of the draw with the lease in South Burlington is the location. She said it has a lot more parking than the current spot in Burlington’s South End and is close to a highway exit and within a walkable distance from a public bus route. It’s also right down the street from South Burlington’s Vet Center on Gregory Drive. When veterans were returning from Vietnam, Russ said, many of them didn’t feel supported by either the wider culture or the government, and there was a lot of mistrust in the VA. According to Russ, the department set up vet centers to act as a safe gathering space for veterans readjusting to civilian life, and the centers still provide a lot of mental health care and support groups. “It’s not uncommon for a veteran to get mental health care at the vet center but have primary care and everything else at the VA site. So, we have a strong partnership with them,” she said. Once the clinic is renovated, there will still be some outreach work to get veterans in the door. Russ said the VA White River Junction Healthcare System will likely hold town halls and events. “Just really getting the word out that this is going to be an available site for veterans to access primary care, mental health care and some specialty cares,” she said. Read the story on VTDigger here: Veterans Affairs to open clinic in South Burlington. ...read more read less