Salisbury VA Health Care System celebrates Charlotte & Kernersville Health Care Centers' decade of service to Veterans and community

Throughout the years, both health care centers have not only served thousands of Veterans and their families but have also become a pillar in the communities which they serve.

Authorized by U.S. Congress in 2009, both HCC facilities serve an average of 35,000 to 40,000 Veterans each year. Since opening their doors in early 2016, the HCCs have exponentially increased VA health care and services to hundreds of thousands of Veterans, their families, caretakers, and survivors. 

“For me, this past decade means growth. It means caring for our nation's heroes, Veterans who have served our country, which in return has allowed me to serve here at the VA. These ten years have been amazing,” said Thomas Streater, assistant director and administrator of the Charlotte Health Care Center and North Charlotte VA Clinic, Salisbury VA Health Care System.

As a part of a Level 1A High Complexity facility, health care services provided at the HCCs include urgent care, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, digestive care, mental health care, nephrology, optometry, pain management, pharmacy, primary care, prosthetics and rehabilitation, and more.

“I’m proud, just really very proud of what we have accomplished here in Kernersville,” said Lori Fox, assistant director and Kernersville administrator, Salisbury VA Health Care System. “We are bursting at the seams 10 years later, and we have added service after service, and a large number of Veterans who are coming here for care.”

From an initial planning concept to the opening day’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Charlotte and Kernersville HCCs took about ten years to come to fruition. 

Two architects with differing design ideas and visions were chosen for the project. Kernersville’s layout emulates an open concept that would be found in airports and shopping malls, while Charlotte’s layout is traditional-meets-modern amenities with a straightforward and classic hospital design.

“I’ve been working for the VA for 41 years, and I'm not a Veteran, but I've dedicated my life to serving Veterans. I've seen incredibly huge changes in the VA and the way we treat not only Veterans but also in medical care,” said Joseph Laurer, chief engineer of the Salisbury VA Health Care System. Laurer attended both HCC grand opening ceremonies in 2016.

Though the HCCs’ legacies are established through the hundreds of thousands of Veterans both locations have served to date, there are more stories to tell, Veterans to care for, and lives to help transform as the Salisbury VA grows and continues to uphold its promise of service and care.

“We're always looking at growth, and we're looking at areas in the surrounding Charlotte and Mecklenburg County areas to expand to provide more access for our Veterans,” added Streater. “So, I think in the next five to ten years, you'll see some more expansion of VA in this area. I think if you just look around our building now, you can see it has changed for the better from 2016 to 2026.”

Looking ahead, Salisbury VA has plans underway to add capacity at both locations by creating a network of smaller clinics in each of the HCC catchment areas. These future clinics will one day help reduce access issues, decrease drive times, and drastically cut wait times for current and future Veterans alike receiving VA care across the Piedmont region of North Carolina.

“We hope that it will open space and allow us to expand our specialty care service offerings. And then finally, we also hope that it would have a positive effect on recruit and retainment of staff so that they don't have to drive as far,” said Charles Lawson, strategic and facility planner, Salisbury VA Health Care System. “We're tentatively planning for four clinics around the Charlotte metro area and then two to possibly three in the future in and around the Kernersville area, such as Forsyth County and Guilford County.”

For more information on this story, email the Office of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs at salisburyvapublicaffairs@va.gov. 

About the Salisbury VA Health Care System

At the Salisbury VA Health Care System, our mission is to fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors. 

Learn more at www.va.gov/salisbury-health-care.