After breaking the news on September 13th that the U.S. Veterans’ Administration would open a $17 million multi-specialty clinic in Vero in vacant medical office space at 777 37th St., Vero Beach 32963 launched an effort to find out more details.

What we have gotten for the past few months has been one more exasperating adventure in federal government bureaucratic inertia.

From the first telephone message we left for VA officials on December 6th to February 13th, when a 145-word statement was finally provided, eleven (yes eleven) full weeks elapsed.

It took four phone calls and the exchange of 21 emails over this period to eventually get a single VA “approved statement” which contained exactly 14 words that had not already been reported in our original September story.

And the new information won’t come as much of a shock: The clinic will NOT open on schedule in March.

“Activation of the full site is anticipated to occur prior to September 30, 2025,” Public Affairs Officer Andrea Madrazo said.

In fact, construction has not even begun, something we discovered two weeks ago by poking around the building, which showed zero outward signs of active renovation.

The VA had provided, of course, no explanation for the delay in renovating the building and opening the clinic.

But the VA is actively advertising for physicians and other healthcare providers to work at the Vero clinic, which we found out by searching on USAJobs.gov where all the jobs for the new clinic will be listed.

As reported in September, the 20,000-square-foot facility, when fully staffed, will offer treatment for medical specialties that include audiology, cardiology, dermatology, neurology, optometry, podiatry, pulmonology and urology.

In addition, the new outpatient clinic will also offer chiropractic care, dental services, physical therapy, and on-site laboratory services, and will have specialists trained in fitting veterans with appropriate prosthetics to enhance their mobility, independence and quality of life.

Primary care and mental health services are not moving to the new clinic complex from the existing 17th Street location.

Madrazo said the VA has recently met with the local Veterans Affairs Council to offer an update on the clinic. But no update has been offered to the public.

One can only hope the VA operates with more urgency in providing vital medical services to our honored military veterans than in dealing with newspapers that stand ready to publish good news about the VA.