Report: VA hospital crumbling (Omaha location needs 100's of millions)

http://www.omaha.com/article/20090817/NEWS01/708179906

By Joseph Morton
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
« Metro/Region

WASHINGTON — The aging Omaha VA Medical Center needs hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades, renovations and new construction to address a long list of problems, according to a report released Monday.

The report lists “numerous, significant space and functional deficiencies” at the facility. Among them:

• Aging water and sewer systems due for replacement.

• Insufficient on-site parking.

• Roof, walls and windows that need to be repaired or replaced.

• Eight elevators in poor condition that need modernization.

• Surgical service undersized for the current workload.

• Operating rooms that do not meet current criteria for size and configuration.

U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who requested the study, said it found “crumbling windows and walls” and “seriously outdated surgical capacity.”

He said he has suggested for years that the Omaha facility needs work and that the study results are not surprising.

FULL story and photo at link.