A standing-room-only crowd attended the ribbon cutting on Oct. 14 for the new Huntsville Veterans Administration Medical Center. (CONTRIBUTED)

HUNTSVILLE – Thousands of local veterans in the Madison and Huntsville communities now can take a deep breath of relief. The new Huntsville Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center has opened.

Huntsville VA Medical Center’s address is 500 Markaview Road N.W., just north of 1-565 between Clearview Cancer Institute (CCI) and the former Butler High School campus.

The facility covering 47,800 square feet will bring the Madison, Decatur and Huntsville community-based outpatient clinics together under one roof. Huntsville VA will provide primary care, mental health, women’s health, audiology, optometry and radiology. A pharmacy is onsite.

A standing-room-only crowd attended the ribbon cutting on Oct. 14. U.S. Congressman Mo Brooks was a guest speaker, along with Brig. Gen. Edward Daly, who serves as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army Materiel Command.