HOLYOKE - Area lawmakers say they've been able to restore $500,000 in funding for the Holyoke Soldiers Home to save its outpatient clinic.

State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, and state Rep. Michael F. Kane, D-Holyoke, said today the Legislature has sent Gov. Deval Patrick a supplemental spending bill that includes money for both the Holyoke institution and $500,000 for the Soldiers Home in Chelsea.

The new appropriation must be approved by Patrick. It restores part of the nearly $900,000 the governor cut from the Holyoke Soldiers Home's fiscal year 2010 budget in October.

Because of that cut, the home planned to eliminate outpatient services, lay off at least 10 employees and privatize its laboratory services, Knapik said.

"The Senate President and the Speaker of the House, as well as the Chairmen of the Senate and House Committees on Ways and Means, have been extremely helpful and supportive of our efforts over the past several weeks," Knapik said in a statement. "I am grateful for their support of the Soldiers Home in Holyoke and the veterans it serves, even in these challenging economic times."

Every year, about 2,000 veterans receive outpatient services, including dermatology, hematology, ophthalmology, optometry, ear, nose and throat, podiatry, minor surgery, proctology, nephrology and urology.

Patrick has 10 days to sign the bill passed this week into law.

Kane said in a release that the home, in addition to being a key piece of medical care for veterans, provides jobs for local residents.