Exploring Rural VA Communities: Poplar Bluff, Missouri

Like the Veterans we care for, rural communities are as engaging and exciting as you can imagine. You may find an opportunity to be closer to family and friends or just enjoy a greater sense of privacy. Perhaps the lower cost of living or even the allure of open space appeals to you.

Regardless of what appeals to you, you can find the pace of life and the community you’re looking for in rural locations like these, including Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center.

Situated in southeast Missouri, midway between St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, Poplar Bluff is home to about 17,000 people and enjoys spring-fed streams, a national forest, a peaceful lake and fertile farmland. The town also serves as a regional hub for education, health care, business and light industry for over 100,000 people in the county.

Part of the aptly named VA Poplar Bluff Health Care system, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center is a general medicine teaching hospital. It provides training in nursing, laboratory technology, secretarial science, dental assisting, computer science, social work, physical therapy and optometry. 

Rural communities like Poplar Bluff offer a change of pace that can’t be beat. Learn more about this location—and others—at VA Careers.