Congressmen introduce bill to name VA clinic for former Columbus mayor

WASHINGTON – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr., D-Ga., and Congressman Drew Ferguson, R-Ga., introduced legislation recently to name the new Department of Veterans Affairs’ community-based outpatient clinic in Columbus as the Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic.

The clinic, which is now under construction and is expected to be open by March of 2022, is located at 6910 River Road, in Columbus, and will be named in honor of the former mayor of Columbus, Col. Robert Stephen “Bob” Poydasheff Sr., United States Army, retired.

Following his military service, including his service as the Staff Judge Advocate of Fort Benning, Poydasheff made Columbus his permanent home and entered the private practice of law. He served as a City Council member as well as mayor of Columbus. Throughout his life, he embodied the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, and selfless service and was an advocate for the establishment of a community-based veterans’ clinic in Columbus that would be accessible to all veterans in the immediate and surrounding areas.

Poydasheff was renowned for his advocacy in Columbus, and as such, the bill presented by Bishop and Ferguson is endorsed by the community he represented; the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans organizations; along with every member of the Georgia Congressional Delegation, Republican and Democrat.

The new clinic will be a state-of-the-art facility and will provide a wide range of medical services to veterans in Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley area in conjunction with existing facilities located at Fort Benning and in Midtown Columbus near the Piedmont Regional Hospital campus.

“I am pleased to have my colleague, Drew Ferguson, join me in introducing this legislation in honor of Mayor Poydasheff,” Bishop said. “The naming of this clinic for Bob Poydasheff honors a great champion for veterans in this community, an exceptional soldier, public servant, and a dear friend of longstanding.”

“Col. Poydasheff is an American hero deserving of recognition,” Ferguson said. “After a distinguished military career spanning over two decades, Bob continued to serve the Columbus community as mayor and an advocate for local veterans. We, as a nation, are forever indebted to Bob and all of America’s heroes. I’m proud to introduce this legislation alongside Congressman Bishop to rename the Columbus VA facility to celebrate Col. Poydasheff’s legacy and preserve his memory.”

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