A move by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs is generating more jobs for Smyrna and helping to revitalize one of the the town's neighborhoods.
The VA has opened the Mid-South Consolidated Patient Account Center, or CPAC, in a 60,000-square-foot former Walmart store that underwent a $5 million renovation. 

The center, which will employ between 300 and 400 people, is part of Veterans Affairs' initiative to improve billing and collection activities at its 153 VA medical centers and 1,400 clinics. The CPACs handle a variety of financial functions for the VA, including insurance verification, billing, utilization review and accounts receivable. Many of the jobs at the center pay between $40,000 and $50,000 annually.

The VA has signed a 20-year lease for the building where the center is housed. The facility, which had most recently been an expo center, is expected to jump-start expansion efforts at nearby commercial properties where space is available and create additional spinoff employment.


Aiding in the site location was the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and its Destination Rutherford public-private economic development initiative. Smyrna won out over competing bids from several other communities.

Rutherford County is home to the Alvin C. York Campus of the VA's Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, a 347-bed facility that provides medical, psychiatric and long-term care for veterans. The medical complex employs more than 1,500 people and is one of the county's single largest employers.