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Lake Baldwin Clinic to Stay Open

John Mica talking to media outside the Lake Baldwin VA Clinic

The Lake Baldwin VA Outpatient Clinic will stay open. The decision to keep the clinic open follows a lobbying effort from Central Florida Congressman John Mica.
In a letter to Mica this week, acting Veterans Affairs secretary Sloan Gibson says the new Lake Nona VA complex won’t be able to support the increase in demand from Veterans.
The space requirement for the new medical center was based on a projection that outpatient clinic stops would increase from 387,215 to 623,082 by 2023.
According to Gibson, clinic stops for 2013 were already recorded at 655,204.
He says a significant increase in the number of Compensation and Pension examinations and expanded mental health programs are also factors in the decision to keep the Lake Baldwin clinic open.
John Mica described it as a victory for veterans.
The Winter Park Republican said he began his campaign to keep the clinic open by writing to then VA secretary Eric Shinseki in 2012, citing the growing veteran population in Central Florida.