VA opens new South Bend clinic

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - The Veterans Administration has opened a new expanded outpatient clinic near downtown South Bend in what used to be an auto dealership.

The renovated facility will be used until a permanent clinic is ready in 2015. The South Bend Tribune reports ( http://bit.ly/JxvMN8 ) that former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan was among those on hand Monday for the opening ceremony. He joked that the old clinic could fit inside of the lobby of the new 18,000-square foot facility.

The new facility will provide a wider range of medical services to veterans, reducing the need to travel to Fort Wayne or Indianapolis for care.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg cited the clinic as an important part of the city's revitalization efforts for an area dubbed by his administration as the "Renaissance District."