SOUTH BEND -- A veterans health clinic planned in Elkhart County probably will open this summer, several months later than government officials hoped, U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly said Friday.

In an interview prior to a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee field hearing at Indiana University South Bend, the congressman said VA health-care system officials have had trouble finding a suitable site for the outpatient clinic, but now appear close to settling on a building in the south Goshen area.

Donnelly said he spoke last week to officials overseeing the project, which would provide medical and mental health services for up to 4,000 local veterans. Officials originally had hoped to open the clinic by late spring.

"I know they're trying, but it's got to get done quickly," said Donnelly, D-Granger. "It will happen, and hopefully it will be in late July or early August."

During the field hearing later at Indiana University South Bend, Donnelly spoke about the need for health, education, employment and other services for service members returning home.

"Most of all, we owe our veterans the promise that they will have the access to the services they need to smoothly transition back to civilian life," he said.

Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger testified that about 4,100 members of the Indiana Army National Guard and Air National Guard are deployed around the world -- the most from any U.S. state.

Umbarger's office has received extra government assistance in the past several years to help Guard members and their families, but the commander is concerned that the aid might dry up some day.

"This would be a mistake, as we have learned the hard way as a nation that caring for our wounded and our veterans must continue long after the conflicts end," he said.

Elkhart County's veterans service officer, Gary Whitehead, provided written testimony to the panel.

He wrote that transition services for veterans are mostly effective: "The only thing that bothers my fellow county veterans service officers and I is that when training sessions are scheduled in our communities, we are not invited to participate since we are not technically a part of the Department of Veterans Affairs."

State and federal Veterans Affairs officials conduct training sessions with military members leaving active duty to teach them about their compensation and benefits, including health care.