Palo Alto Livermore VAMC in California (Photo: VA)
Thirty-five Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in 21 different states would be closed or completely reconstructed under a nearly $2 trillion infrastructure overhaul unveiled by department leadership on March 14.
In addition, 14 new major VA hospitals would be built along with 140 multi-specialty community-based outpatient clinics. The plan in total would add 80 new medical buildings to the department’s existing inventory of more than 1,200 across the country.
The proposals represent a massive restructuring of VA’s footprint in America in coming years and could impact millions of veterans seeking medical care and hundreds of thousands of VA employees.
But, the plan must also get approval from both an independent commission of veterans advocates and Congress before moving ahead, leaving any potential changes years away.
Ahead of the plan’s release, VA Secretary Denis McDonough touted the changes as a critical rethinking of where VA facilities are located and how the department delivers care to veterans.
“We will be shifting toward new infrastructure or different infrastructure that accounts for how healthcare has changed, matches the needs of that market, and strengthens our research and education missions,” he said. “Most of all, we’ll ensure that veterans who live in [any] location have access to the world-class care they need when they need it.”
Congress mandated a reassessment of VA’s nationwide infrastructure in 2018 as part of a review styled after the military base closing rounds of the 1980s and 1990s.
Under the plan suggested by McDonough, 17 medical centers in twelve states would be completely closed. They include the VAMC Livermore Division in Palo Alto.
Read about the other facilities scheduled for closure at Militarytimes.com.
Author: Military Times
Published with permission. MilitaryTimes.com is a part of the Sightline Media Group, formerly known as the Army Times Publishing Company, which first published Army Times in 1940. Throughout its history, the company has a strong heritage and tradition of meeting the highest standards of independent journalism and has expanded with publications serving all branches of the U.S. military, the global defense community, the U.S. federal government, and several special interest, defense-oriented industry sectors.