GALLIPOLIS — After officially expanding its hours to four days a week earlier this week, the Gallipolis VA Clinic will be hosting an enrollment fair for area veterans on Friday in an attempt to continue to sign local veterans up for VA health care.

The enrollment fair will be held from 1-4 p.m. on Friday at the VA Clinic located at 323A Upper River Road behind ther Super 8 Motel in Gallipolis and will offer area veterans the opportunity to determine their eligibility for health care through the Veterans Administration.

Those veterans wishing to enroll should bring their military discharge papers (DD214).

On Monday, the clinic’s hours of operation expanded to four days a week — Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Previously, the clinic’s hours of operation were on Tuesday and Thursday each week, a fact that veterans advocate groups throughout the county have been working to change since the clinic’s opening in September 2010.

The expanded hours of operation hinged on the number of veterans being served at the facility, and, although the VA Medical Center in Huntington cannot provide an exact number of local veterans now enrolled at the clinic, it has been estimated by local veterans organizations that approximately 1,000 veterans from not only Gallia, but also Meigs, Mason and other surrounding counties have now registered for services at the Gallipolis location.

The increase in the number of veterans utilizing the clinic can be attributed to the continued advocacy of the facility by the Gallia County Veterans Service Office (VSO), as well as the relocation of the VSO next to the VA clinic last December.

The service office had previously been located on Jackson Pike and the move into the adjacent office beside the clinic was made to spur greater use of the facility.

The announcement to expand operation hours was made last month by the VA in Huntington, along with the announcement of renovations at the clinic.

According to Deborah Brammer, Public Affairs Officer at the VA Medical Center in Huntington, renovations are ongoing at the facility and will add additional space for specialty care services through Telehealth conferencing.

The clinic will continue to provide primary care outpatient services. Any patients requiring specialty services are referred to the Huntington VA facility.

The veterans service office currently provides transportation to the Huntington facility each Monday for veterans who have been referred to the VA hospital.

Veterans who have questions about eligibility and enrollment may contact the enrollment office at the Huntington VA Medical Center at (304) 429-6741, ext. 3459, 2490 or 2496, or toll free (800) 824-8277.

To schedule an appointment at the Gallipolis VA Clinic, veterans can contact the clinic directly at (740) 446-3934.