South Bend buying closed auto lot for VA clinic

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Updated: January 19, 2012 3:52PM

SOUTH BEND (AP) — South Bend plans to spend $3.3 million to buy a closed auto dealer’s lot and turn the site’s buildings until the temporary home of an expanded Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic.

The renovated buildings will be used until a permanent clinic is ready in 2015. The new temporary clinic will open in March and have more than twice the space and staff of the current clinic.

The clinic is run by Marion-based Ambulatory Care Services. ACS President John Earnest says nearly 100 people will work at the new clinic, and more than 50,000 patients will visit it annually. He says the goal is to provide more services so South Bend-area veterans don’t have to drive to Fort Wayne or Marion for care.