John J. Pershing VA Medical Center celebrates 75 years of serving Veterans

The medical center began as an idea in 1944, during a period of strong nationwide growth in the former Veterans Administration. At the time, Joe Merva, the executive secretary of the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce, learned that a VA hospital had been proposed for the southeast Missouri district, prompting him to wire 10th District Congressman Orville Zimmerman and ask that Poplar Bluff be considered as a location for a new facility.

On December 5, 1945, Merva’s persistence paid off when President Harry S. Truman approved Poplar Bluff as the site for southeast Missouri’s new Veterans’ hospital.

A 30-acre location was selected along U.S. Highway 67, a major travel corridor in the city, and the land was purchased from well-known local physician, Dr. Fred Kneibert.

Ground was broken for the $5.4 million medical center on February 18, 1948, and on November 25, 1950, it was formally dedicated by VA Administrator, Gen. Carl Gray.

“Let me congratulate the city of Poplar Bluff for its foresight in planning for a bigger and better city,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. G. E Galloway told those attending the dedication. Congressman Zimmerman added, “Your city was the only logical place for this hospital … our high, hilly situation is a healthful situation and beautiful to the eye.”

The 200-bed hospital opened in January 1951, when the first patient – Zalma, Missouri, resident and World War II Veteran Bernard Davis – was admitted to the facility.

Initially employing about 275 staff, the medical center quickly became a hub for Veteran health care across the region.

In November 1983, the Poplar Bluff Veterans Council suggested the facility be named after a famous Missourian and recommended Gen. John J. Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front during World War I. Congressman Bill Emerson sponsored the renaming bill, H.R. 5252, and it became law on October 30, 1984. On June 6, 1985, the facility was re-dedicated and named the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center.

Several major modifications to the original structure have taken place over the years, including the addition of air conditioning in 1978, seismic reinforcement in 1984, primary electrical system replacement in 1986, and a remodel of the Primary Care clinics in 1998. Additionally, a new, more spacious front entrance and education building were completed in January 2020.

Expanding Veteran health care across the region, the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center opened community clinics in Cape Girardeau and West Plains, Missouri, and Paragould, Arkansas, in 1997. Additional clinic openings followed in Farmington and Sikeston, Missouri, in 2001 and 2009 respectively, and Pocahontas, Arkansas, in 2014.

Most recently, the 45,000-square-foot Cape Girardeau VA Health Care Center opened in February 2022 and a new 19,140-square-foot clinic in West Plains opened in March 2026. 

Today, the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center employs approximately 1,050 personnel across its seven facilities, providing more than 24,000 Veterans in 29 counties with services such as primary care, mental health care, pharmacy, laboratory testing, urgent care in Poplar Bluff, a 38-bed community living center, inpatient acute care, and specialties like physical therapy, audiology, urology, podiatry, cardiology, and more.

“The John J. Pershing VA Medical Center has been here a long time, and that shows VA’s commitment to the Veterans across southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas,” said Medical Center Director Kevin Bass. “Even with such a long history, we’re not going to rest on our laurels … we continue to strive to offer the best health care possible to those who have served.”

For more information about the services and programs offered at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, visit https://www.va.gov/poplar-bluff-health-care/ or call .