Specialty Dermatology Service Opens in Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Outpatient Clinic

The expansion of the Youngstown VA Clinic’s dermatology services means hundreds of Veterans in eastern Ohio counties will be able to receive care much closer to home, saving them the one- to three-hour drive to the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (LSCVAMC). 

Youngstown joins both the Akron VA Clinic and the Parma VA Clinic as the third outpatient clinic to offer these specialty services. Akron and Parma each provide dermatology appointments with two providers, every weekday, serving an average of 150 patients per week. Initially, the Youngstown VA dermatology team will schedule Tuesday appointments with a dermatology-trained nurse practitioner. Plans are to expand to Youngstown VA Clinic dermatology specialty to three days each week by late August, when the addition of a dermatology physician will allow up to 50 patients to be scheduled each week.

“Our goal is to care for our veterans in Youngstown and surrounding counties, who have acute and chronic skin conditions, as well as veterans who have skin cancers and pre-cancers,” explained Dr. Elma Baron, Chief of Dermatology at the LSCVAMC. “Proper surveillance of the skin through regular full body skin exams with the dermatologist result in early detection and treatment of skin cancers. Many of our veterans also suffer from inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema that require targeted immunologic therapies.  Proper management of these conditions requires the expertise of fully trained dermatology providers.”

The new dermatology service expansion at the Youngstown VA Clinic will allow more Veterans to utilize VA care, which is proven to be the best care in America for Veterans. 

“Adding more accessible dermatology services for Veterans in eastern Ohio will help hundreds of Veterans to more easily enjoy high-quality care they deserve, while reducing travel time and making their care far more convenient in their community,” said Dr. Baron. “At the VA, we are always looking for ways to more effectively provide quality healthcare services, and we are pleased to see this important specialty expansion become real!” 

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Contact Damien Horvath, VA Public Affairs Officer, at 216-339-5240, or Damien.Horvath@va.gov with questions or to arrange follow up interviews with local VA leadership.  

ABOUT VA NORTHEAST OHIO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: Focusing on treating the whole Veteran through health promotion and disease prevention, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System provides comprehensive, seamless health care and social services for more than 134,000 Veterans across Northeast Ohio. With 17 locations of care, including 12 outpatient clinics, two community resource and referral centers, a psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery center, a chronic dialysis center, and an outpatient surgery center, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System’s quality services are easily accessible to Veterans in 21 counties. VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System also contributes to the future of medicine through education, training, and research programs.

For more information about programs and services offered by VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, visit https://www.cleveland.va.gov or follow us on Facebook @ClevelandVAMC.  

Damien Horvath, Public Affairs Officer

(216) 339-5240