CRANBERRY TWP — VA Butler Healthcare is preparing to relocate three of its community-based outpatient clinics by the end of the year.

The clinic on Freedom Road in Cranberry Township will move in the township to a larger facility on Commonwealth Drive. The Clarion County clinic on Route 58 near Foxburg will be relocated outside Clarion, and the Armstrong County clinic in Ford City will move to West Kittanning.

“Space is the main reason for the moves,” said Timothy Florian, manager of the outpatient clinics. “We really outgrew our current centers.”

The new facility at 900 Commonwealth Drive has nearly 6,700 square feet, compared to the 4,000- square-foot existing facility.

The clinic, set to open Nov. 2, will feature new equipment and an increased staff.

“It’s close to many amenities, and there is plenty of parking,” Florian said.

The new clinic in West Kittanning will be a big increase in size for veterans in Armstrong County.

“The existing clinic could fit in the new clinic three times,” Florian said, referencing the current 1,600-square-foot center in Ford City. “It’s enormous in comparison.”

Florian said the new centers will have large conference rooms in which more than a dozen veterans will be able to gather for teleconference meetings with doctors in Butler, preventing them from needing to make the drive to the main facility.

“The goal is to provide more care in these communities and expand services,” said Ken Kalberer, a health systems specialist for the VA.

Kalberer said the locations of each of the new clinics better suit more veterans.

The new clinic in Cranberry is closer to Route 19, he said, while the clinic in Clarion County is much closer to the majority of its patients.

The new Clarion County center will be along Interstate 80.

“There are big benefits to that,” Ken said. “It’s right down the hill from the hospital, and the location is more accessible.”

Accessibility is the fundamental purpose of the outpatient clinics.

“The idea has always been care close to home,” Florian said. “The clinics give us the opportunity to continue advancing services where veterans live so they don’t have to get to Butler or Pittsburgh.”

Associate director Rebecca Hubscher said the clinics are a big draw to the veterans VA Butler serves each year.

“About half of our patients have gone to our community-based outpatient clinics,” she said.

Through July of this year, the VA has seen 17,700 patients. More than 8,100 have gone to outpatient clinics.

The Mercer County clinic has had the most patients, with nearly 2,500. Cranberry Township has seen more than 1,700, while Lawrence, Armstrong and Clarion counties have served 900 to 1,600.

The clinics in Mercer and Lawrence counties are fully staffed by VA personnel, while the other three clinics are a mix of VA and private employees.

Each of the three new clinics signed 5-year contracts this summer.

The West Kittanning clinic is scheduled to open Sept. 17. The Clarion County one will open in October.

Valor Healthcare will be the vendor for all three clinics.

Having the same vendor will further increase the continuity between the clinics, Florian said.