Temple Terrace Drone Video

The Temple Terrace VA Clinic provides Veterans greater access to mental health care - More Help, Closer to Home!

The Temple Terrace VA Clinic is expanding mental health care for Veterans throughout Tampa Bay. Officials have determined a great need for mental health care for Tampa Bay Veterans. A new outpatient and residential clinic opened in 2023 to make care more accessible.

Staff at the clinic stated that any Veteran can receive mental health services. It doesn’t matter if a Veteran is homeless or in need of timely mental health care. “Our no wrong door approach assures that whatever way they come, they are going to get great services,” the Deputy Chief of Health and Behavioral Services, Ronald Gironda said.

The clinic offers a variety of services:
General mental health
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Suicide prevention
Substance use disorder programs
Military sexual trauma
Domiciliary care for homeless
Psychiatric disorders
Marriage and relationship problems
Anxiety, addictive behaviors, and personality disorders
Aggressive or self-harming behaviors

Common conditions the clinic treats include:
Addiction
Depression
Anxiety
Trauma
PTSD
Bipolar disorder
Schizophrenia
OCD

One Veteran receiving care at the clinic opened up about her story. Rebecca Marsh has been a patient at the Temple Terrace VA Clinic for several weeks. “I’ve been homeless. I’ve been raped. I was in a relationship where it was abusive,” Marsh explained.

She heard about the programs offered at the Temple Terrace VA Clinic and decided she was ready to get help. “I am a meth addict and I decided that I wanted to change my life,” Marsh stated. Marsh struggled with drug addiction for years. She said the clinic is helping her with that and the trauma she endured. “It’s wonderful. It’s an amazing program. I’ve been here for 14 days today and already I never want to go back to drugs."

Leaders at the clinic explained that's their goal. They help Veterans get back to living normal lives. “I know a lot of places want to see people forever, but we want to see people get better and go on with their lives issue free,” the Associate Chief of Staff Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Glenn Catalano said.

Catalano helps manage all of the mental health services at the Temple Terrace VA Clinic. Over the years, he’s witnessed many changes at the clinic. One of the most significant changes he has seen is the opening of the new facility.

The Tampa VA Outpatient and Residential Center opened in December 2023 with the goal of improving care for Veterans. The new center consolidated care for Veterans. “No longer do Veterans have to drive from place to place. They get all their care in one place,” Catalano stated.

The Temple Terrace VA Clinic improved convenience and access to mental health care for Veterans with the addition of their outpatient and residential center.

Veterans can access a number of different services under one roof. That makes referrals quick and easy for providers. “One of my geriatric psychiatrist specialists or someone who is a specialist in PTSD, I walk 10 yards down the hall and I can get them and bring them over to the patient in the room at the same time,” Catalano explained.

The clinic’s consolidation also expedited wait time for Veterans. “We can walk them from beginning to end of care in this building directly. They don’t need to go to another place, they don’t need to be consulted to another facility,” the Section Chief of the At-Rist Monitoring and Outreach Section (ARMOR), Troy Howell said.

This is important when it comes to the clinic’s suicide patients. “It’s critical. We need to make sure we’re identifying these folks as early as possible,” the Suicide Prevention Team Lead, Stephanie Miller said.

At any given time, Miller explained staff working in suicide prevention have between 160 to 220 high risk Veterans on their caseload. Miller’s role ensures Veterans seeking suicide prevention services have support and monitoring to get care. It’s a critical service that can save a Veteran's life. “We provide outreach calls to them. We try to engage them in care and make sure they get a number of mental health visits with their primary mental health providers,” Miller said.

The clinic also provides housing and mental health support to Veterans who are homeless. The domiciliary allows any homeless Veteran to come in and get seen that same day. There are rooms and beds for Veterans.

A homeless Veteran can walk into the Temple Terrace VA Clinic and access essential mental health care, including support for housing.

The ultimate goal of the Temple Terrace VA Clinic is to ensure every Veteran receives support to build a healthier and happier future.

For more information about the clinic and to make an appointment, click here: https://www.va.gov/tampa-health-care/...