Senator Richard Burr
will attend the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, February 26th.
The The heartbeat heartbeat of of
Kernersville for for 77 78 years
Vol. 78 No. 43
Special Ed i t i o n
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Published Tues., Thurs., Sat.-Sun.
e m o c l e W Veterans Affairs Health Care Center
VA Health Care Center Opens This Week by Wendy Freeman Features & News Editor
Davis
Now is the time veterans across the Piedmont Triad area have been anticipating for several years. Construction on the new Kernersville VA Health Care Center (Kernersville HCC) has been completed and the doors have opened to veteran patients. To celebrate the occasion, the Salisbury VA Medical Center is holding a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Feb. 26 from 1 to 3 p.m., officially marking the final milestone in the Kernersville HCC development. Salisbury VA Medical Center Director Kaye Green said she is proud of the strides the Veterans Administration is making to provide the best healthcare and access for local veterans.
“Increasing access to quality medical care through the Salisbury VA Health Care System has been one of our highest priorities over the past three years, and the opening of the Kernersville Health Care Center is a major milestone in that effort,” Green said. “We are dedicated to providing the best care anywhere. The Kernersville Health Care Center will no doubt help us deliver on that promise through state-of-the-art equipment and dedicated, caring staff in a convenient location for our veterans..” The Kernersville HCC will serve as an outpatient center for an estimated 40,000 veteran patients each year. With 280,000 square feet of net usable space and 1,900 parking spaces, the state-of-theSee “Heath Care Center” D4
The Kernersville VA Health Care Center on Kernersville Medical Parkway has opened to veterans. It is expected that the outpatient facility will serve an estimated 40,000 veterans from throughout the Piedmont Triad each year.
An Account of the VA’s Journey to Kernersville by Wendy Freeman Features & News Editor
Administrator Brent Erickson Kernersville VA Health Care Center (Kernersville HCC) Administrator Brent Erickson retired from the Air Force last September after 23 years, where most of his military career focused on providing care to our nation’s service members. Erickson was little more than a week on the job at the Kernersville HCC when he sat down to talk about the new facility. “It’s a fantastic facility and the first in my career that I’ve actually seen built for future growth and development. We have a unique ability to expand services here,” Erickson continued. “These men and women willingly gave up their lives to serve their country and this is our way of giving back to them. Many times they were put in harm’s way and it can take a toll on them, physically and mentally. We’re able to help them on the other side of that.”
Welcome to Kernersville!
Davis
As it opens its doors to a growing veteran population in the Triad, the Kernersville News takes a look back at how the newly completed and opened Kernersville VA Health Care Center (Kernersville HCC) developed, beginning with visits to the area from representatives with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to this week’s grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. 2010 In June 2010, representatives from the VA in Washington, D.C. were in Kernersville to tour possible sites for a new outpatient clinic facility to be built in the Triad area in the next year. VA officials were trying to narrow its list of potential locations after announcing the month before that it planned to build an outpatient clinic on approximately 40 acres in the Winston-Salem metropolitan area. The VA detailed the project on a federal business opportunities website when the agency began accepting submissions in April, explaining that once a site was selected, the VA would choose a develop-
er to purchase the site and build the twoor-three story, 280,000 square foot facility. The facility would then be leased back to the VA as a medical office building for up to 20 years. In all, VA representatives looked at around 20 sites in the area, some shown by real estate agents or developers themselves. Two weeks later, the representatives returned for a second round of site reviews and met with Kernersville planning staff; however, the exact locations of the local sites under consideration remained confidential, except for one, a site at the corner of Hwy. 66 South and Old Salem Road, which was confirmed by its developer. “The VA representatives came to the Triad to look at numerous sites, many of which are confidential,” Town of Kernersville Community Development Director Jeff Hatling said in a June 18, 2010 article in the Kernersville News. Hatling added that the VA seemed to most want a site that was construction ready, with representatives asking about environmental or regulatory hurdles or any water, sewer or infrastructure issues that might hamper construction. See “Journey” D5
We’re glad you’re here!
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Veterans Affairs Kernersville Hea
Opens This Week
“It is with a great deal of pride and appreciation that the proud veterans within the Kernersville community welcome our new VA Clinic! What this means to so many veterans will be low/ no cost prescription drug availability, in lieu of having to use ‘mail order pharmacies.’ In addition, recurring service-related medical problems can now be treated in town, rather than in some faraway location. We are glad to have you here, and pledge the support of our local veteran population!” -Willis W. (“Bill”) Apple, Lt. Col, USAFR (Ret.) “I really think the 150,000 veterans and their families in the Triad should applaud and are very proud to have the VA Health Care Center in the area. This is going to be so good because our concentration of veterans are here. It’s going to be one of the top facilities in the country and long overdue to the Triad. It’s going to be a great asset.” -Bill Moss, USMC, 1953-1957
“I think the VA Health Care Center will be a great service for all area veterans. It will be more convenient for me since my physician will relocate here from the Winston-Salem facility. It is pretty impressive.” -Dave McAdoo, Captain, U.S, Army, 1967-1973 “It is a real honor to have the VA Health Care Center so close by so we don’t have to drive to Salisbury. It will be a real convenience for all area veterans to have the health care center so near.” -Command Sgt. Major, U.S. Army Retired, Marvin Woodard, 22 years of service “It’s going to be wonderful to have the VA Health Care Center 10 minutes from my home. That’s a heck of a facility and everyone I am associated with is pretty happy about it. The Marine Corps League in Greensboro lobbied for it, so we very strongly advocated for it to be here.” -Roger Stockton, USMC
captaintomsseafood.com
Ryan W Tilley Financial Advisor Tues-Thurs 11 am - 9 pm Fri 11am-10pm Sat 4pm-10pm Sun 11am-9pm Mon Closed
Steaks & Chicken also Available!
1265 NC Hwy 66 South, Kernersville, NC 27284 Phone: 336-996-5951 Fax: 336-992-9687 Email: captaintomsseafood@gmail.com www.captaintomsseafood.com All ABC Permits Daily Food Specials Take Out Orders Available!
tudio ip Fitness SStudio Membersh ess
A Limititeedd Membership Fitn
Kernersville, NC | 336.996.5951
A Lim Don Like us on Facebook!
Whitaker
Don Personal Whitaker Certified Trainer Certified Personal Trainer
“focused on fun and fitness after forty”
“focused on fun and fitness afterforty” forty” “fun and fitness after 336-996-0303
Exclusive Exclusivebut butnot notexpensive expensive boomersandbeyond.org boomersandbeyond.org
336-996-0303 806-A Hwy 66 S 806-A Hwy 66 S (Next to Plaza Restaurant) (Next to Plaza Restaurant) Kernersville,NC NC27284 27284 Kernersville,
Sounds Good
LuAnn W Davis
Mortgage Loan Officer
1030 South Main Street Suite K Kernersville, NC 27284 Bus. 336-996-7765 Fax 877-209-5556 ryan.tilley@edwardjones.com www.edwardjones.com
C&H Cafeteria The Original Fast Food Only Healthier!
Car Stereo, LLC Jimmy Cook
336-992-7290 Mark McGee
CAR STEREO - AMPS - SPEAKERS - BOATS GPS - CAR ALARMS - CAR VIDEO - RV’S UTV’S - REMOTE START - CRUISE CONTROL 806 NC Hwy 66 South Suite R • Kernersville, NC 27284
40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
940 S. Main Street Kernersville
992-0707
www.chcafeteria.com
NMLS# 113055
430 W. Mountain Street Kernersville, NC 27284 c 336-253-7220 f 855-424-5082 ldavis@northstatebankmortgage.com northstatebankmortgage.com
We know you
WORK HARD for your money!
Come check out the lowest rates in years at Grosvenor Square & Pineview Apartments.
Call 996-2351 for details! Grosvenor Square & Pineview Apartments 74 Woodbine Street • 996-2351
alth Care Center This is an exciting time in Kernersville! Tomorrow, there will be a ribbon cutting celebrating the opening of the new VA Health Care Center in Kernersville, and patients are already getting medical care in this state of the art facility. Back in 1938, a group of Kernersville citizens traveled to Raleigh in an effort to get a VA hospital in Kernersville, and an early issue of the Kernersville News reports the story of the citizens who worked on this effort. While Kernersville has grown and changed greatly over this time, the dream of having medical care here for our veterans has remained constant, and the need for it has only grown, along with growth in this region of our state. With so many veterans who have served this country living here in our area, we are indeed thankful for the opportunity to have a VA Health Care Center here in Kernersville, centrally located in the Piedmont Triad, to meet their healthcare needs. As a community, we are thrilled to celebrate the ribbon cutting for the VA Health Care Center. It is a historic day, and one long hoped for in this community. More than that, it is the hope and promise in our community to provide excellent care for our veterans, who have given so much for our country. As mayor, and on behalf of the Board of Aldermen, I want to offer our warmest Kernersville welcome to the new VA Health Care Center! Sincerely,
Dawn H. Morgan Mayor
The Kernersville Community Welcomes You
We consider it an honor that the Department of Veterans Affairs has chosen to open one of its newest state-of-the-art health care facilities in Kernersville.
Re-Elect
Richard V. Linville Electrical • Security • Audio/Video Systems 208 E. Bodenhamer Street Kernersville, NC 27284
County Commissioner
Kevin Bugg, Agent 1325 Hwy 66 S Kernersville, NC 27284 Bus: 336-996-2681 kevin@bugginsurance.com
Greetings & Best Wishes In Your New Home
Conservative Republican
996-5151 From Welcome Wagon® & Gregory R. South DMD, PA State Farm, Bloomington, IL 1211999
Paid for by Richard V. Linville for County Commissioner
Select Color Format
Gregory R. South DMD, PA Comprehensive Dentistry Gregory R. South, DMD,PA 112 Harmon Lane, Suite A • Kernersville
Office: (336) 993-3751 336-993-3751 • www.gregorysouthdmd.com 8am-5pm • Thurs 8am-1pm Fax:Mon-Wed (336) 993-6601
PUT OUR EXPERTISE TO WORK FOR YOU.
Kernersville Family YMCA 1113 W. Mountain St. (336) 996-2231
“Helping People reach their God-given potential in Spirit, Mind and Body.”
229 North Main Street, Kernersville, NC 27284 1523 Union Cross Road, Kernersville, NC 27284
HELPING YOU IS WHAT WE DO BEST.
112 Harmon Lane, Suite A Kernersville, NC 27284Auto · Home · Life Health · Business Retirement
www.gregorysouthdmd.com
719 NC Hwy 66 S · Kernersville, NC 27284
Terry Gaither LUTCF
Agency Manager
336-993-5490 terry.gaither@ncfbins.com An Authorized Agent For
Right By You for all of your business and personal banking needs!
Willis W. Apple President
wwapple@wwapplepa.com www.wwapplepa.com 336-310-4485 Linville Professional Center S e l e c t S e l e c t o c a t i on L o c a t i onL 900 Old Winston Road • Suite 108 (lower level) 2 1 Kernersville, NC 27284
336-993-5381 336-993-4878
163 S. Main Street • Kernersville (336) 992-3327
WWW.FIDELITYBANKNC.COM 02/23/2016
2016 - 027 - Kernersville - Business Card Ad - VA Hospital Celebration Section.indd 1
2/23/2016 11:21:41 AM
e m o c l e W Veterans Affairs Health Care Center
special edition
Kernersville News, Thursday, February 25, 2016 · D4
Health Care Center
New VA Facility Will Improve Access to Care
Continued from D1
art facility replaces the Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Winston-Salem and will provide a wide variety of outpatient services. Total square footage of the new facility is 375,000 sq. ft. Located on 40 acres along Kernersville Medical Parkway, there is even greater capacity for expansion in the future, said VA officials. According to Lisa Fox, the Kernersville HCC’s interim administrator until just recently, the transition from Winston-Salem to Kernersville will result in a more centralized location for care for the Triad’s veteran population. It’s ultimately why the Kernersville site was selected among several under consideration in Forsyth and Guilford counties when the VA first announced plans to construct a new facility in the area. “There are a lot of veterans in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem and this was more centrally located. We looked at several sites and this one served the best purpose,” said Fox. Kernersville first learned it had been selected as the site for a new medical facility in September 2012, when the VA announced it had chosen a 40-acre tract of land along Kernersville Medical Parkway on which to build the $150 million, 400,000 square foot health care center. Construction on the site began in January 2014, with the main exterior work completed in September of that same year, with an opening date predicted for the spring of 2016. However, the project moved forward ahead of schedule. The Kernersville HCC will be one of the largest facilities in the
state serving the veteran population. A similarly sized HCC opened in Fayetteville near the end of 2015 and another will open in Charlotte in April, said Marlous Black, a public affairs officer for the Salisbury VA. The list of services the Kernersville HCC will provide to veterans is long. They include primary care, mental health, audiology, imaging, laboratory, optometry and pharmacy services, specialty medicine and surgical clinics and compensation and pension exams. Expanded services expected to be rolled over in the coming months include day surgery, dental clinic, dialysis, endoscopy, infusion clinics, rehab medicine, additional medicine and surgical clinics and other specialty clinics. In addition, there will be 17 dialysis chairs, giving the center the ability to address more chronic needs. There will also be four operating rooms for same day surgical procedures. The Kernersville HCC will also have a state-of-theart cath lab, developed in conjunction and in partnership with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. When asked what she is most excited about regarding the Kernersville HCC, Green said improving care for veterans. “I am most excited about improving the experience of our veterans and offering a much greater array of services in a state-of-theart healthcare facility,” Green said. Following Friday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, tours of the facility will be available to the public. Individuals or groups interested in attending are asked to RSVP by email to VHASBYPublicAffairs@ va.gov.
By U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx
America is the land of the free because we are the home of the brave. When you stop to think about it, it’s amazing that men and women choose to serve in our armed services, knowing full well that their sacrifice could be tremendous – and even require their life. But still they volunteer. They do so because America – her ideals, her people and her way of life – is worth defending. The entire nation owes our military personnel and veterans a huge debt of gratitude, and ensuring that debt is properly repaid is one of my top priorities in Congress. It is critically important that we provide high-quality, timely care for those who have sacrificed so much in service to our country. As I travel North Carolina’s 5th District, I hear a similar refrain. No matter where I go, constituents tell me horror stories of their experiences with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans are frustrated with the lack of service they’re receiving. They’re angry because they can’t get an appointment or a phone call returned. And they’re outraged, as I am, that the Obama administration is doing little to solve the multitude of problems that have been revealed. My heart is always touched when veterans and their families describe their efforts to get service through the VA and how the VA wouldn’t help them until my office intervened. These stories affect me more than words can say. I’m always happy to know that my office has helped and my staff is encouraged when we get a problem solved. However, these veterans shouldn’t have to contact their congressional office to access the benefits they have earned. North Carolina has one of the largest veteran populations in the country, which is why
I am thrilled with the VA’s decision to open a new Health Care Center in Kernersville. The new center replaces the VA clinic and annex in Winston-Salem with expanded outpatient services and space. America’s veterans deserve better than the inexcusable misconduct and neglect that we’ve seen over the last few years at the VA, and it’s my hope this new facility will reduce the problems that local veterans face regarding access to health care. The Kernersville Health Care Center will continue to deliver services that were offered at the Winston-Salem clinic, such as primary care, mental health and compensation and pension exams. However, the new center will provide more than 20 different medical services, including outpatient specialty care. Expanded services include dialysis treatment, dental work, cardiac care and operating rooms. By delivering services which veterans previously had to travel to other counties to receive, the new facility offers a one-stop-shop for care. It also offers a convenient and accessible location as well as plentiful parking. The Kernersville Health Care Center quadruples the amount of space that doctors, nurses and other medical professionals have to serve veterans in the Triad. It is always an honor to assist veterans from the 5th District, and I encourage those who are having issues with the VA to contact my office. I thank our veterans for seeing the value of freedom and rising to America’s defense with unfailing strength. Virginia Foxx is the U.S. Representative for North Carolina’s 5th congressional district.
ESTATE PLANNING ESTATE ADMINISTRATION (PROBATE)
ELDER LAW
(LONG-TERM CARE PLANNING) Including Simple and Complex Wills ▪ Financial Powers of Attorney ▪ Health Care Powers of Attorney ▪ Living Wills (Advance Directives) ▪ Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts ▪ Incompetency Proceedings ▪ Guardianship ▪ Medicaid Planning ▪ Special Needs Planning ▪ Veteran’s Pension Planning Julie R. Whatley Attorney-at-Law Coltrane, Grubbs & Whatley, PLLC jrw@coltranegrubbs.com www.ColtraneGrubbs.com Phone: (336) 996-4166 Fax: (336) 996-6388
109 East Mountain Street Suite D Kernersville NC 27284 P.O. Box 1062 (27285-1062)
I help families protect life savings and quality of care when a loved one gets sick.
Julie R. Whatley VA Accredited Attorney
e m o c l e W Veterans Affairs Health Care Center
special edition
Kernersville News, Thursday, February 25, 2016 · D5
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) broke ground for the new VA Health Care Center in Kernersville during a special ceremony at the center’s 40-acre site on Kernersville Medical Parkway on Friday, Jan. 24, 2014. Those who participated were: Dr. Tamara Burks of the Winston-Salem VA; Ilario Pantano, director/assistant secretary of the N.C. Division of Veterans Affairs; keynote speaker Daniel F. Hoffmann, director of the VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network; Kernersville Mayor Dawn Morgan; Kaye Green, medical center director of the Salisbury VA Medical Center; U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx; Mike Fendley, field representative for the office of U.S. Senator Richard Burr; Gary Buechler, president and managing director of development for Lend Lease (U.S.) Healthcare Development, LLC; the late U.S. Representative Howard Coble; and Forsyth County Commissioner David R. Plyler.
Journey Continued from D1
Kernersville Town Manager Curtis Swisher said in the same article that should the VA select Kernersville for its new outpatient facility, the size and scope of the one planned would have a huge impact on the area. “It would have a huge impact considering the size of the facility and what comes with it as far as jobs,” Swisher said. “It’s a large facility and would bring a good increase to the tax base.” 2011 After having spent more than a year considering several sites on which to construct a new outpatient facility, the VA notified three potential sites to inform they had not been selected. Of the three, one of those locations was in Kernersville at the corner of Hwy. 66 South and Old Salem Road. P.M. Development submitted the location for consideration the year before, and principal partner Stuart Parks confirmed in October 2011 that he had received a letter informing him of his site’s status in the selection process. “The letter which went out was very polite and short and just said we were not selected,” said Parks. “Through this entire process, though, the VA could not have been
leep Sinn
more gracious.” Two other sites in Winston-Salem, one in the north district west of U.S. 52 and one south of Martin Luther King Boulevard, were also rejected, leaving only one final site in contention, a tract of land owed by Blue Diamond Investment Co., LLC, consisting of 100 acres sitting just north of Kernersville Medical Center off Macy Grove Road. At the time, Kernersville Medical Parkway had not been constructed, and the only way to access the area was via Macy Grove Road. When contacted, the VA only confirmed that a preferred site had been selected, but final acreage and location of the site would not be released until all steps in assessing and appraising the property had been completed. Kernersville Mayor Dawn Morgan said in an October 29 article in the Kernersville News that she was optimistic Kernersville would be the site selected for the facility. “We remain hopeful that a Kernersville location will be chosen for the outpatient clinic. I think it would be great for the veterans because of the easy access from the Kernersville location, especially with Interstate 40, Business 40 and the future Macy Grove Road interchange,” she said. Morgan also credited efforts made by the Town toward
advanced planning that has situated Kernersville as a popular location for major industries and medical facilities. “Advanced planning has played a big part in this,” Morgan said In the same article, Forsyth County Commissioner Dave Plyler said the economic impact of the facility would be huge. “It is going to be a huge boon to the Kernersville community. It will quickly make this area one of the fastest growth areas in the county,” Plyler said. 2012 In September 2012, the VA confirmed that the agency had selected the Blue Diamond location in Kernersville as the site for its new, 39-acre health care center after posting a public notice regarding the project online when soliciting bids for construction and business opportunities with the federal government. Once again, Morgan applauded the news in a September 8 article in the Kernersville News. “This is very exciting news for Kernersville and for the veterans in our area,” Morgan said. “It is a very convenient See “Journey” D6
of Kernersville Designed to Dream 1406 Heartland Drive (Highway 66 at I-40) 336-993-6800
S LEEP I NN
OF
K ERNERSVILLE
IS OWNED BY
P OPE C OMPANIES
Congratulates The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Kernersville Health Care Center ON THEIR GRAND OPENING AT PATRIOT’S CROSSING MEDICAL BUSINESS PARK! AS DEVELOPER OF PATRIOT’S CROSSING, WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE THE VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE CENTER AS PART OF OUR GROWING LIST OF PARTNERS, ALONG WITH NOVANT HEALTH KERNERSVILLE MEDICAL CENTER.
A 200-acre park, with all utilities in place, located at 1-40 and Hwy 66, zoned MBP for office, retail, residential and commercial uses. One-acre to thirty-acre sites are available. If you are interested in being part of Patriot’s Crossing, call Pope Companies at (336) 996-5000.
www.
PCO-4.9x10.75_patriots_crossing.indd 1
.com
2/23/16 9:06 AM
e m o c l e W Veterans Affairs Health Care Center
special edition
Kernersville News, Thursday, February 25, 2016 · D6
Journey Continued from D5
location and the veterans who have served our country have long said they needed additional medical services in the area.” Five days later, the VA held a pre-bid conference in Greensboro regarding the project, where it unveiled its overall vision for the facility to builders and developers interested in submitting bids. During that same meeting, real estate advisors for the project said the VA had executed an option to purchase the 39.36 acre site the previous February for $9.25 million. They also unveiled the preliminary conceptual rendering and site plan for the health care center, revealing three floors for patient care and a lower level where clinical labs, engineering and warehouse space would be located. One advised developers not to deviate too far from the VA’s plan, which has been entirely vetted by the VA. 2013 In September 2013, Blue Diamond Development Co., LLC officially announced it had sold a 40-acre site in Kernersville that was set to become home to a new $150 million VA health care center to Winston-Salem Healthcare Development LLC, an arm of Lend Lease Development Inc., for $9.3 million. In a September 21 article in the Kernersville News, Jeff Hunter, president of Pope Companies and a principal partner of Blue Diamond, said the groups closed on the sale of the property on September 17. He also said Pope Companies is developing the area around the proposed health care facility, which will be called Patriot’s Crossing Medical Business Park. Lend Lease Development Inc. was selected by the VA to design, build and manage its new facility, with Perkins Eastman working on the design as well. 2014 During a January 2014 groundbreaking ceremony, officials from throughout the state and local community paid homage to the nation’s veterans as they talked about their excitement at the prospect that a new 280,000 square foot facility would one day
provide state-of-the-art care and easy access to Piedmont Triad veterans. From Kernersville’s mayor and Board of Aldermen to county commissioners and U.S. Congressional representatives, all expressed their excitement at the facility’s potential. Salisbury VA Medical Center Director Kaye Green, who oversees the Triad area, spoke to the growth in the state’s veteran population. Green told those in attendance that N.C.’s is one of the busiest and fastest growing VA systems in the country and just a short three years ago, she would have never imagined a health care center such as the one planned in Kernersville would be needed in the area. “We are thrilled beyond words to see this VA center come to fruition,” said Green. Morgan said Kernersville’s wish for a veterans’ facility in the community dates back decades to when a group first rallied around the need in 1939. An article was even published in the Kernersville News about the group, she said. “This has been something the people in the community have hoped for a long time. It has been a dream here to provide better health care for veterans,” said Morgan. Morgan also called upon the words of President Abraham Lincoln, who in his second inaugural address called on the nation to begin healing its wounds of the Civil War: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” Construction on the new Kernersville HCC reached a major milestone on September 9, 2014 when those involved with the project celebrated the completion of the steel frame of the building with a traditional topping out ceremony. Hundreds of people involved in the design and construction of the 280,000
Above: Kernersville Mayor Dawn Morgan and Forsyth County Commissioner Dave Plyler attended the January 2014 groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the start of construction for the new VA facility in Kernersville. Below: The original artist rendering of the Kernersville VA Health Care Center.
square foot four-story VA medical facility from construction workers, engineers and architectural designers to officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs - participated in the event. Many of those signed a ceremonial beam that was then hoisted with a crane above the structure in a ceremony common in construction that calls for placement of the final beam atop a building frame to mark the end of one phase of construction and the beginning of another. The beam was slated to eventually be placed above a stairwell in the facility. Green attended the ceremony and signed her name to the beam. “We’re thrilled at the support we’ve received and that we’re on schedule,” Green said. 2015 In August 2015, the Kernersville HCC opened its doors to media tours, giving local media outlets an up close look at some of the main features of the 280,000 square
foot facility slated to open in the spring of 2016. The tour offered visitors a sneak peek into the state-of-the facility’s new operating rooms, where surgical lamps had been newly installed, recovery rooms and even to the facility’s rooftop, where two outdoor gardens will allow patients and families an opportunity to relax. There’s still plenty of interior work to be done, but VA officials told the group that staffing would begin to be put in place in February 2016 and the facility should begin seeing patients soon thereafter. 2016 The Kernersville HCC began moving staff from the two VA locations in Winston-Salem to the new facility in mid-February and began seeing patients soon after. VA officials also announced plans for a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Feb. 26.
Chairman, Forsyth County Board of Commissioners
Conservative Leadership. Proven Results. I am proud to serve you as Chairman of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. Today, we are a Board that has a “can do” spirit instead of a “won’t do” attitude. Under my leadership, the Board has the vision and strength to keep Forsyth County moving forward. Vote to re-elect Dave Plyler Forsyth County Board of Commissioners in the Republican primary on March 15. Paid for by Committee to Re-Elect Dave Plyler, Commissioner
Plyler4.9167x10.75C.indd 1
2/24/16 9:33 AM
Above: The East Forsyth High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps acted as the Color Guard during the January 2014 groundbreaking ceremony for the Kernersville VA Health Care Center. Below: A grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the Kernersville VA Health Care Center will be held Friday, Feb. 26 from 1 to 3 p.m.
e m o c l e W Veterans Affairs Health Care Center
special edition
Kernersville News, Thursday, February 25, 2016 · D7
Chamber Chair Welcomes New Health Care Center By Jason T. Grubbs
Above: Salisbury VA Medical Center Director Kaye Green, who will oversee the Kernersville VA Health Care Center, signing her name to a steel beam during the facility’s topping out ceremony in September 2014. Below: Construction crews place the final steel beam, draped with the American flag, atop the outer shell of the Kernersville VA Health Care Center, during a traditional topping out ceremony signifying the end to construction of the building’s outer frame.
On behalf of the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce, I’d like to take the opportunity to welcome the Veterans Administration and the physicians and staff of the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center to Kernersville. Not since the end of World War II has Kernersville had the opportunity to welcome veterans on the scale that we will with the opening of the Veterans Administration’s new 375,000 square foot facility here in the heart of the Triad. It is an exciting time for our town, as we will have the opportunity to introduce thousands of new faces to Kernersville and all it has to offer. The new, state-of-the-art facility represents the cutting edge of care for men and women who have given their all for our great nation. As we care for the veterans of World War II and Korea in their later years, the Vietnam generation as they enter retirement, and continue to welcome home a new generation of veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq, let us never forget the sacrifices these heroes among us have made to protect our liberty. I have no doubt that those visiting here
for care, as well as those re-locating to the area to work at the new center, will be welcomed with all of the warmth and hospitality that makes Kernersville special. The opening of the new facility also brings new opportunities for the Kernersville business community. As we experience the growth that will no doubt come with the presence of the new facility, the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce stands ready to support that growth with programs, services and advocacy designed to enhance the business environment in Kernersville. If you haven’t done so already, please visit us and find out how the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce can help your business thrive. Kernersville has long been known as a great place to live, work and raise a family. Now, we can add that it is a great place too for our nation’s veterans to receive the care they so greatly deserve. Jason T. Grubbs is the Chairman of the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce.
Lend Lease Development Inc. was selected by the Department of Veterans Affairs to design and build the new Kernersville VA Health Care Center.
Construction on the Kernersville VA Health Care Center began in 2013. The new facility officially opened to veterans in mid-February 2016. Above: Kernersville VA Health Care Center Administrator Brent Erickson stands inside the lobby of the new outpatient facility. Below: VA officials say that the Kernersville VA Health Care Center will see approximately 40,000 veterans each year.
The $150 million, 375,000 sq. ft. facility has 280,000 sq. ft. of net usable space.
Kernersville VA Health Care Center Services The Kernersville VA Health Care Center (Kernersville HCC) is a state-of-the-art, 280,000 square foot facility that offers a broad range of outpatient services, including primary care, mental health, medical procedures and support services. It will not provide emergency room, urgent care or inpatient services. Once opened, the Kernersville HCC will offer: primary care, mental health, audiology, imaging, laboratory, optometry, pharmacy, specialty medicine and surgical clinics, and compensation and pension exams.
In the future, the Kernersville HCC will expand services to include: day surgery, dental clinic, dialysis, endoscopy, infusion clinics, rehab medicine, additional medicine and surgical clinics and other specialty clinics.
For vets who currently receive care within the Salisbury VA system, no action is needed to receive care at the Kernersville HCC. Those who do not currently receive care in Charlotte, Salisbury or Winston-Salem should visit explore.va.gov/health-care to apply for enrollment. Enrollment applications are also available at the Kernersville HCC site.
1695 Kernersville Medical Parkway • 336-515-5000
Congratulations, Kernersville VA Health Care Center, on your grand opening. Thank you for your work with our nation’s veterans.