The Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita is celebrating 90 years of service.
The first patients were admitted to a 150-bed facility on November 16th, 1933 after almost a year of construction. A 48-acre lot of farmland was purchased just northeast of Kellogg and Oliver in 1932 and a groundbreaking was held on June 15th of that year.
The Dole VA has added new facilities and began opening Community-Based Outpatient Clinics in the 1990s in Hays, Dodge City, Parsons, Salina and Hutchinson.
The hospital now serves about 30,000 veterans each year in a 59-county area. In fiscal year 2023, nearly 400,000 outpatient visits were provided.
[ photo: Dole VA Medical Center, Eric Ott, Jeffrey Herndon ]
