Orlando VA Medical Center

New Orlando VA Hospital

I am pleased to report that one of the most important projects for our Central Florida Veterans, the Lake Nona Orlando VA Medical Center is nearing completion. This new facility will have 134-inpatient beds, a 120-bed community living center and a 60-bed residential rehabilitation medical center.

To ensure that the VA is doing everything possible to get the new state of the art medical complex open and serving our veterans, I recently participated in a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing entitled: Building VA’s Future: Confronting Persistent Challenges in VA’s Major Construction and Lease Programs.  During the hearing I questioned VA officials on expediting the opening of the nursing home and domiciliary portions of the new hospital.  At this hearing, the VA confirmed that the 134-bed nursing home would begin taking patients in December.  Today, I am pleased to announce that veterans are now entering this long-term care facility.

Also, for the first time, VA officials publicly announced that the 60-bed domiciliary care unit will open in February or March of 2014.  The advanced opening of domiciliary beds is very important in assisting the many homeless and often forgotten veterans who need longer-term care.  This is promising news, particularly in providing stable care to veterans left homeless on the streets or in need of care beyond what our clinics can provide.  My goal has been to take our most vulnerable veterans off the streets as soon as possible and provide specialized care as key health service components of the new facility are opened.  Be assured that I will continue to hold the VA’s feet to the fire to make certain this happens.

I continued pressing the VA on its inability to maintain its completion schedule for the new VA hospital also under construction in Lake Nona.  VA officials again cited differences between the VA, who targets an April 2014 hospital opening, and the contractor, who predicts an opening in September of 2014.  Originally, the new hospital was scheduled to be completed last year.  At the hearing, I also raised the issue of delayed payments to contractors and sub-contractors which has compounded problems and caused further delays in completing the new facility.  My work will continue until the doors of the new hospital officially open.

The new VA medical center will be located in the area known as “Medical City”, surrounded by the University of Central Florida Medical School, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and Nemours Children’s Hospital. With over 2,100 employees serving an estimated 113,000 veterans annually, the new Orlando VA Medical Center will set a new benchmark in veteran health care.