Veteran Center Planned For Pasco County

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando County veterans in need of counseling services will no longer have to drive to Tampa once a new center opens in Pasco County by the end of next year.

The exact location of the new center - one of six new centers planned for Florida - wasn't announced Wednesday, but it will be in the 5th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite said.

That would put the clinic in the west-central or eastern portion of Pasco.

"It's something I believe we needed," Brown-Waite said.

Veterans centers offer counseling and outreach services at no cost for all veterans who served in any combat zone, with a focus on readjusting to life after returning home. Counseling services are also available for their family members.

The centers differ from the community-based health clinics, such as the one at the PineBrook Medical Center in Brooksville.

Brown-Waite, whose district includes the second-highest number of veterans in the country, said she pushed for the new centers because the need to help veterans find a job or cope with post traumatic stress syndrome will only rise as veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are currently 15 veteran centers in the state. Currently, Hernando and Pasco veterans must drive to Tampa or St. Petersburg for the services.

Pinellas County will get a second center. New centers also are planned for Broward, Palm Beach, Polk and Volusia counties.

It's good news, said Hernando County Veterans Services Manager Matt Peters.

"More clinics and medical services available for our veterans in Pasco and Hernando counties is a tremendous thing," Peters said.