McKinley County Veterans Guide: Accessing VA Health Care and Benefits Locally

Every veteran living in Gallup, Thoreau, Crownpoint, Zuni, or the surrounding communities of McKinley County has a federally funded health care clinic less than a short drive away. The Gallup VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic provides primary and specialty health care services, including telehealth (mental health), heart monitoring, social work, women's health, EKG, and more. Named for one of Gallup's most celebrated sons, the clinic is a concrete expression of what this region's veterans have earned.

The Clinic Bearing a Hero's Name

The Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura VA Clinic is located at 2075 South NM Highway 602, Gallup, NM 87301. The clinic carries the name of a man who embodied service to country and community. A second-generation Japanese American, Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura first volunteered for the U.S. Army near the end of World War II. During an overnight firefight from April 24-25, 1951, then-Corporal Miyamura covered the withdrawal of his entire company from advancing enemy forces. His selfless actions allowed all 16 of his men to withdraw safely before he was severely wounded and captured as a prisoner of war. Nearly two and a half years later, following his release and return to the United States, President Eisenhower presented him with the Congressional Medal of Honor.

After receiving his honorable discharge, Hershey moved back to New Mexico and opened a service station along Route 66 in Gallup. He remained active in his community for his entire life, advocating for his fellow veterans and inspiring young people with lectures on patriotism, faith, and service. The clinic was renamed in his honor after both a House companion bill and Senate legislation passed; the late Staff Sgt. Miyamura died on November 29, 2022. Both bills passed unanimously in the House and Senate before being signed by President Biden.

Hours and Access

The clinic is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. That schedule covers the full workweek, though hours for specific services may vary. If you need to confirm availability for a particular service, check the clinic's VA.gov page directly.

Wheelchairs are available upon arrival for patients who need them to access the building. For veterans who need a ride, transportation support is available. The VA New Mexico Health Care System network has transportation options for veterans needing a ride to and from their scheduled VA appointments in the Gallup area.

What Services Are Available Here

The Miyamura VA Clinic is not a simple referral office — it delivers a substantive range of care on-site. Your VA primary care provider will work closely with you to plan for all the care you need to stay healthy and well throughout your life, including immunizations and vaccinations, and will also work with family members or caregivers who support you.

Beyond routine primary care, the clinic's services include:

• Telehealth (mental health), heart monitoring, social work, women's health, and EKG.
• Mental health treatment services, crisis intervention, psychiatric emergency walk-in services, outpatient treatment services, consumer-run peer-support services, and telemedicine therapy.
• Women's veteran care that offers gender-specific treatment for health needs.
• Psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PRRTP) available in both Gallup and Albuquerque.

Mental health care deserves particular emphasis for McKinley County veterans. VA New Mexico provides same-day walk-in services for mental health and psychiatric help for new and established patients. All VA health care facilities offer same-day help, and you may qualify even without enrolling in VA health care. If you or someone you know is in crisis, the Veteran Crisis Line and free emergency care for suicidal treatment is available at any VA or non-VA facility.

Social Work and the PACT Team

One of the most underused resources at the Miyamura Clinic is its social work program. Social workers are here to help veterans, families, and caregivers with almost any need, from help with finances or housing to questions about treatment to just feeling overwhelmed. Every enrolled veteran with a primary care provider has a social worker automatically assigned to them. All veterans who have a primary care provider have a social worker assigned to them as part of their Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). Veterans can call and request to speak to their PACT Social Worker, or they can walk in when they check in for a primary care visit and request to see their social worker. No referral is required.

Telehealth: Getting Care Without the Drive

Distance is a real barrier for veterans living in communities like Crownpoint, Tohatchi, or the Zuni Pueblo area. The VA has a direct answer. The clinic offers video conferencing, home telehealth services, and store-and-forward telehealth that lets you securely send your health information to experts at VA facilities. For rural veterans, there is also a Digital Divide Consult program to help you get the technology you need to customize your telehealth mental health needs. If you don't have a device or reliable internet, ask the clinic about this program before assuming telehealth is out of reach.

How to Get an Appointment

Getting into the VA system starts with enrollment. Once enrolled, the process for scheduling at the Miyamura Clinic is straightforward:

The NM Department of Veterans Services: Your Local Benefits Navigator

Health care at the Miyamura Clinic is only one piece of what McKinley County veterans can access. The New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (NMDVS) has a field office in Gallup specifically to help veterans navigate VA benefits claims. Each field office is staffed by a veterans service officer (VSO) who has attained accreditation through the National Association of County Veteran Service Officers. All VSOs are also veterans themselves, dedicated to helping their fellow veterans with filing for well-deserved benefits.

The Gallup NMDVS field office is located at 908 E. Buena Vista Ave., Gallup, NM 87301, and can be reached at (505) 389-8731. This office serves McKinley County and is the right first call for veterans trying to file a disability claim, appeal a benefits decision, or understand what compensation they may be entitled to.

State Benefits Worth Knowing

New Mexico offers its own layer of benefits on top of federal VA entitlements. Resident disabled veterans who have a 100% service-connected disability rating from the VA qualify for a complete property tax exemption on their primary residence. New Mexico also approved a constitutional amendment to authorize a reduction in a disabled veteran's property taxes based on their VA disability percentage, starting in the 2025 tax year. For example, veterans with a VA disability percentage of 50% would be eligible for a 50% reduction in their property taxes on their primary residence.

The Gallup State Veterans Cemetery, located at 333 National Cemetery Drive, Gallup, NM 87305, can be reached at 505-921-3494. It is open to honorably discharged veterans and their spouses.

Peer Support in the Community

For veterans who want connection beyond clinical care, Gallup Veterans Helping Veterans is an active local group. The veterans group meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, with meetings held at the Veterans Post on Buena Vista at 10:00 a.m. The group is composed of local men and women veterans who promote healing and camaraderie, plus assistance in obtaining benefits.

The Miyamura Clinic, the NMDVS field office on Buena Vista, and community organizations like Gallup Veterans Helping Veterans form a local ecosystem built around the people who served. Every McKinley County veteran who isn't yet enrolled in VA health care has services waiting for them on South NM Highway 602 — put there, in no small part, by a man from Gallup who never stopped fighting for his fellow veterans.