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Fitzsimmons VA Hospital
VA to Build Stand-Alone Replacement Hospital in
Denver
March 18, 2009 -
WASHINGTON - 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.
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Meetings start at
9am and are held at VFW Post 9644
2680 W. Hampden Ave
Sheridan, CO 80110 |
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