JANESVILLE — A building that used to serve pizza and mojos now will serve veterans.
The former Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, 2419 Morse St., is being transformed into a Veterans Administration Medical Clinic.
The new clinic will have more space, offer extended mental health services and will be staffed by VA employees.
And with a location right off of Interstate 90/39, it will be accessible to vets from all over the county and northern Illinois.
“The more convenient a VA facility is, the more likely it is that it will used,” said Bob Baker, a Vietnam combat veteran and lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The current VA medical clinic at 111 N. Main St. will not close until the new clinic is opened, so patients will have continuous care.
Differences between the two facilities include:
-- Space: The North Main Street clinic occupies roughly 2,600 square feet and treats about 2,300 patients a year.
The Morse Street clinic will be an estimated 4,400 square feet, with room to expand.
Along with the regular contingency of older combat veterans, south central Wisconsin is also home to a variety of military units including Company A, the 132nd support battalion. The Wisconsin Army National Guard also has units in Beloit, Elkhorn and Fort Atkinson. All of those units have been called up for active service and will leave for Iraq in the spring of next year.
-- Staffing: Sterling Medical Services, under contract with the VA, staffs the current clinic. VA employees will staff the new clinic.
“We have nothing but good things to say about Sterling Medical,” said John Rohrer, chief strategy and planning officer for the VA’s Madison facility.
But Sterling Medical was coming to the end of its contract. At the end of a contract, the VA’s policy is to reconsider veterans’ needs and best ways to meet those.
-- Services. Limited mental health services are offered at the current clinic, Rohrer said.
Those services will be expanded at the new clinic.
“Telemental” health services will be part of the new lineup.
“Patients can see and speak to a psychologist on a screen,” Rohrer said. “They’ve done this in several places, and it’s been quite successful.”
Telemental health services are especially important for veterans who don’t have a way to get to Madison. It’s also good for patients who wouldn’t get the help if they had to make the trip.
-- Location: Both clinics were on the city bus line. The new clinic is next to Interstate 90/39 and near the Van Galder bus stop.
Builder developers Scott Stephenson and Pat Kelly said the old Shakey’s will get a new façade along with an entirely new interior.
Developers hope the clinic will be done by the beginning of December; the VA predicts between 90 to 120 days until the opening.
About 2,400 square feet remains in the building, and Kelly said he hoped to find a tenant who would be a good match for the VA’s patients, such as a physical therapist’s office.
Meanwhile, people continue to stop at the building, looking for pizza and mojos.
“We had a lady who came all the way from Jefferson looking for mojos,” Kelly said.
“She was so bummed out when she found out Shakey’s was closed.”