During his “State of the City” address Tuesday afternoon, Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms announced that a new type of clinic for military veterans and their families is coming to Virginia Beach.
Cohen Veterans Network (CVN), a privately-funded network of mental health clinics for post-9/11 military veterans, will be opening a new clinic in Virginia Beach “sometime in November or December,” according to Anthony Guido, vice-president of communications and marketing for CVN.
The clinic will provide mental health care services to veterans and their families, regardless of the veterans’ discharge status. Guido said this means that some veterans who are not eligible for healthcare at veterans hospitals may get access to much-needed services via the clinic.
The clinic will also provide same-day care for those having mental-health crises. Those whose needs aren’t urgent will have a guaranteed first appointment within a week of contacting the clinic. Guido said that CVN has recently started accepting Tricare insurance as well.
The Hampton VA Medical Center is the Veterans Affairs center closest to Greater Williamsburg. It offers treatment for depression, grief, addiction, PTSD, anger management and more.
The mental healthcare group has already told Virginia Beach officials that it plans to build a 10,000-square-foot facility in the city, Guido said; however, the exact location is still unknown.
CVN is looking for space to rent or land to build on, as well as a local organization to partner with. The folks at CVN like to partner with local “community organizations” unique to each location — universities, hospitals, veterans-facing groups, etc. — so that the agency can understand the care needs of the community from the people who already live here.
“We want to go into the community as a partner and have a community solution. We want to find partners that know the local landscape better” than we do, Guido said.
CVN is entirely supported by Steven Cohen, a billionaire hedge-fund manager who pledged $325 million to open the clinics in 2016 to combat PTSD in veterans. Guido said that Cohen set a goal of 25 clinics by 2020.
The first clinic opened in April 2016, and the first five were built up by end of that year. There are currently 10 clinics opened nationwide, with new clinics slated to open this fall in Orlando, Tacoma and San Diego.
The CVN clinics are typically similarly-sized facilities, 10,000-square feet and employing 12 to 18 people. The clinics provide short-to-medium term outpatient care, according to Guido. That is the type of facility that Virginia Beach residents should expect later this year.
