In the 18 months it has been in Selma, the Department of Veterans Affairs Selma Outpatient Clinic has had a tremendous impact.

At a recent Dallas County Commission meeting, Brenda Sanders McCary, Licensed Certified Social Worker, said the clinic has no plans of slowing down.

In the near future, McCary said the clinic plans to add more programs to deal with the mental health aspect of veteran’s affairs.

One program called Vets for Vets, is on the table.

“We are in the organizational stages of getting that program here,” she said.

This organization is a non-partisan and dedicated to helping Iraq and Afghanistan era veterans to heal from the psychological injuries of war through peer support.

Addressing the mental health aspect of veterans, Probate Judge Kim Ballard said, can be very helpful to the county in many ways.

“From my perspective as Probate Judge from a mental health standpoint the state of Alabama is woefully inadequate,” he said. “(The clinic) is going to fill a huge void in our community.”

Because the Black Belt is under funded and undermanned, McCary said the clinic is more important than ever.

“Any time you start talking about rural Alabama healthcare problems are magnified,” she said. “We are just happy to have the opportunity to provide this service.”

One of the clinic’s assets, McCary said, is the ability to get into the community.

“If there are veterans within the coverage area that cannot come, we can bring the clinic to them,” she said. “We have a doctor who can go into the home and provide the services and the nurses, social workers and social services can go into the home as well.”

Since the clinic opened in August 2009, McCary said the demand has grown steadily.

“We have had a very positive reception from the public and the community as well,” she said.

For fiscal year 2010, the clinic had 657 visits. In the fiscal year to date, the clinic has had more than 1,800 visits. More than 400, she said, are unique cases who have not used the services before. For registration information call 418-4975.