WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new $4.4 million facility is being built at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita to treat veterans’ addictions.

Medical center director Rick Ament said at a groundbreaking Friday that the inpatient center is “a badly needed service for veterans between Kansas City and Oklahoma City.”

The Wichita Eagle reports that the hospital sends between 15 and 20 veterans every month to Leavenworth or Kansas City for residential treatment for substance abuse.

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VA spokesman Akeam Ashford says the new facility will have 12 beds to treat veterans in Wichita. There are currently 183 veterans enrolled in the outpatient substance abuse program in Wichita.

Construction is expected to be completed in October, with patient treatments starting in January.

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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com