OCTOBER 17, 2026 – Senior leaders from the Guthrie Army Health Clinic and Veterans Affairs Syracuse Healthcare System officially marked the opening of the Fort Drum VA Clinic with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 16, 2026.
Held in the shared lobby of Guthrie’s specialty care clinic and the VA’s new location, the ceremony brought together attendees from Fort Drum, local veteran service organizations, healthcare partner agencies, and others from the North Country community. The event concluded with senior representatives from both Guthrie AHC and the Syracuse VA Healthcare System cutting the ceremonial ribbon in front of both organizations’ flags.
“(The ceremony is) about far more than just opening clinic doors,” said Col. Elizabeth Duque, Guthrie AHC’s commander, during her remarks. “It marks an exciting new chapter in a partnership that has been actually forged over decades of service to those who wear or have worn the uniforms of our forces.”
The ceremony marks the formal relocation of VA specialty medical services from Watertown, New York, to Fort Drum. Under a facility-sharing agreement, the VA is co-locating its specialty clinic inside dedicated space within Guthrie AHC to share resources and streamline infrastructure usage across agencies.
“When we bring together our people and strategic resources around the needs of our veterans, we can serve them better and serve our nation better,” said Michael DelDuca, executive director of the VA Syracuse Healthcare System. “Today, as we cut this ribbon, we are doing more than opening a clinic. We are strengthening access to care, building strong partnerships, and reaffirming our commitment to the veterans of the North Country.”
The arrival of the VA Specialty Care Clinic builds on a long-standing history of resource sharing between the two healthcare systems. Guthrie AHC already hosts VA physical therapists and benefits coordinators alongside its medical team, and the VA previously operated a clinic on Fort Drum during the 1990s.
“Bringing the VA specialty services here from the CANI Building in Watertown is a natural evolution of that bond for our veterans who work, live, and raise families across the North Country,” Duque said. “Accessing care in this modern, state-of-the-art facility on an installation woven deeply into their military roots honors their service in the way it should be honored.”
While the primary focus of the relocation is delivering specialty care to enrolled VA patients, leaders view the agreement as a foundation for broader inter-agency collaboration. Future efforts aim to deepen integration between the VA and the Department of War, expand regional healthcare access, and create a more seamless experience for beneficiaries across both healthcare systems.
“As proud as we are of this ribbon cutting, we don’t see this moment as a finish line,” Duque said. “This is a launching pad. Having the Syracuse VA inside Guthrie’s footprint lays the groundwork for even tighter relationships and cooperation down the road, sharing specialized services and enhancing clinical cooperation.”
Story by Warren Wright
Fort Drum MEDDAC