VA to Build Stand-Alone Replacement Hospital in Denver

http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel

VA to Build Stand-Alone Replacement Hospital in Denver



WASHINGTON (March 18, 2009) - Fulfilling President Obama's pledge to
"stand with our veterans as they face new challenges," Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced today that the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) will build a stand-alone replacement hospital for
its existing facility in Denver. The new facility will be located on
the grounds of the Army's former Fitzsimons hospital in Aurora.



The new medical center will provide Denver-area Veterans with a full
range of medical, laboratory, research and counseling services,
including services for Veterans with spinal cord injuries (SCI) and
other disabilities.



VA will also create new Health Care Centers, which provide ambulatory
care and same-day surgical services, in Colorado Springs, Colo., and
Billings, Mont. The Colorado Springs facility will be managed in
collaboration with the Department of Defense. VA also plans to add
eight new health care facilities in rural areas throughout the region.



The new medical center in Denver will include a 30-bed, state-of-the-art
SCI center providing services to Veterans throughout VA's Rocky Mountain
Network, which includes Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, plus parts
of five other states.



In Denver, 78 SCI Veterans who now receive inpatient hospital care at
other VA facilities will be able to receive their care locally, and 984
other SCI patients will no longer have to travel elsewhere for
outpatient services.



Once the new facilities are operational, 92 percent of all Colorado
Veterans will live within a 60-minute drive of a VA primary care
provider, and 81 percent of those Veterans will live within 120 minutes
of either a VA Medical Center or a VA Health Care Center.



This year, VA expects to spend about $2.3 billion on behalf of
Colorado's 426,000 Veterans. VA operates major medical centers in
Denver and Grand Junction. Additionally, it has more than a dozen
community-based outpatient clinics throughout the state, plus four Vet
Centers and two national cemeteries.