Female veterans will soon have more health care options in Wichita.
The Dole VA Medical Center is set to open a women’s care facility on Sept. 28. The new building will be located on the center’s main campus on East Kellogg.
The $1.4 million facility will serve more than 1,500 female veterans who are currently enrolled at the medical center.
Akeam Ashford, a public affairs officer for the Wichita VA, said the medical center has lacked a private space for women.
“We still had space for our women veterans, we still cared for them, but it was in kind of a joint space,” Ashford said. “So you have to think about privacy, safety, dignity and sensitivity to gender issues and specific needs.”
Those issues, he said, will be solved by the new facility.
The 2,700-square-foot addition will include four exam rooms, two procedure treatment rooms and a private waiting room. The facility will centralize all women’s primary care and specialty care services.
There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 28 at 12:30 p.m. A meet and greet with female veterans will begin at 2 p.m. at the Dole VA Auditorium, followed by public tours of the new facility.
Ray Strunk is an intern in the KMUW News Lab.