VA Plans New Inpatient, Outpatient Facilities in Lexington

July 13, 2006

WASHINGTON – Veterans in the Lexington area are a major step closer to getting new inpatient and outpatient health care facilities under the terms of a decision announced today by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary R. James Nicholson.

The new inpatient and outpatient facilities are part of a broader plan for modernizing and replacing portions of the Leestown campus of the Lexington VA Medical Center.

“Lexington veterans can rest assured that new, state-of-the-art facilities to provide world class medical care well into the 21^st Century are part of the plan,” said Nicholson.  “We still have some decisions to make about other parts of the campus, but the new inpatient and outpatient facilities are in the final proposal.”

After a detailed, two-year examination of the Lexington operations, Nicholson selected two possible final options for continued study of VA services in Lexington.  Both of the two final options call for replacing the inpatient and outpatient facilities, but further work needs to be completed before deciding which option is best for the remaining facilities.  Some of the remaining issues include locations on campus for replacement buildings, the use of renovation versus new construction for non-clinical functions and the amount of land available for reuse.  

Nicholson’s goal is to modernize the entire 135-acre campus, which includes 52 buildings, most of which were built between 1930 and 1963.  The modernization plan will enable the most effective use of VA resources in providing quality health care services to Lexington area veterans.

The upcoming study will also examine the potential reuse of the rest of the campus so that VA can generate resources to assist in meeting the health care needs of veterans.

Recommendations are expected by the end of the year that will help determine the best location on campus and the right combination of new and renovated buildings to provide nursing home, hospice, respite, psychiatric and outpatient services in modern state-of-the-art health care settings.

The local advisory panel will schedule a public meeting to review the Secretary's decision and provide recommendations for implementing the studies announced today.  Public meetings are held under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and require a 15-day public notification prior to the meeting.

The final recommendations for Nicholson’s consideration are scheduled to be developed by VA contractors by the end of this calendar year.

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