VA Eastern Kansas will host the ground breaking ceremony their new Rural Health Clinic in Junction City on Saturday ( June 4 ).

VA officials reported that Senator Jerry Moran will be in attendance to speak and participate in the ground breaking.

The the proposed name for the new facility when complete will be the Lieutenant General Richard J. Seitz Rural Health Clinic. When complete it will be nearly a 10,000 square foot clinic, nearly tripling the size of a current VA facility in Junction City.  A goal is to meet the expected veteran populaton growth of 34% in Geary and Riley Counties over the next several decades.

According to Public Affairs Officer, Joseph L. Burks they expect the new facility to improve the coordination of care and customer satisfactiion for veterans throughout this region of Kansas.

Lieutenant General Seitz passed away three years at the age of 95 after living in Junction City for many years. Seitz served 35 years as an Army officer beginning in 1940 with the 38th Infantry Regiment in Texas and culminating in 1975 as the Commanding General of the XVIII ( 18th ) Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg.