Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins is criticizing U.S Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Bobby Scott who said last week a lack of staff at the future Chesapeake VA clinic will impact patient care at the new facility.
The new Department of Veterans Affairs clinic on Battlefield Boulevard is scheduled to see its first patient on April 17.
“While Sen. Kaine and Rep. Scott are lying to score cheap political points, VA is focused on helping veterans, who we encourage to visit this new clinic next month,” Collins said in a written statement sent days after the event.
Collins told WAVY News that the clinic would open with roughly 150 of the 550 staffers to provide primary care, mental health and prescription services, and then gradually offer more services as demand increases.
“It'll ramp up as the demand increases and …more services are offered to January (20)26 in about seven to eight months now, which will be fully staffed,” Collins said.
Through most of 2024, the VA advertised that the Chesapeake clinic would open in fall 2024.
WHRO reached out to the Hampton VA in January 2025 to ask why the clinic had not opened. On Feb. 4, Hampton VA spokesman John Rogers responded in an email citing weather and problems with installing IT equipment, among other reasons for the delay.
In the statement, the VA said the clinic was already in the process of hiring 169 staffers. The list of services scheduled to be offered were much longer than previously advertised - Primary Care, Mental Health, Specialty Care, Dental Services, Audiology, Laboratory Services, Imaging Services, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services. At the time, there was no mention of opening in phases.
Hiring at the Chesapeake clinic was exempt from the government hiring freeze put in place by the Trump Administration, Collins said.
Though, at least one probationary worker fired by the Hampton VA during the first round of cuts was scheduled to work as a supply clerk at the new facility.
The need for veteran care in Hampton Roads has been growing steadily. Veterans make up roughly 14.5% of Chesapeake’s population, more than double the national average. A 2022 VA study predicted the veteran population in Chesapeake would grow by more than 25% by 2029. The study was released before the PACT Act dramatically increased the number of veterans using VA healthcare nationwide.
Even before the Battlefield Clinic opens, the VA has already announced that a third clinic would be developed on Chesapeake Square Ring Road, just across the street from Chesapeake Square Mall.
