Category: Veterans Hospital

It ain’t over until the cornerstone gets laid.

Background.
The Veterans Administration held its most recent (but certainly not last) public hearing yesterday evening at the Clifton Center on Payne Street here in Louisville KY. The purpose of the meeting announced in the paper the day before was to discuss “concerns or considerations related to design or layout” of the replacement for the existing Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Hospital to be built on land recently purchased by the VA near the Brownsboro Road exit of the Watterson Expressway. The announcement below of the hearing on the website of the Robley Rex Hospital (reproduced in full here) accurately anticipated that there would not be very many specifics to discuss!

“The purpose of this meeting is to provide the general public, interested stakeholders, affected governmental agencies and other interested parties timely information regarding the proposed action of the VA relative to the present progress of the Facility Master Plan for replacement of the Robley Rex VA Medical Center (VAMC). … The master plan is conceptual in nature and will neither establish a design for the construction or implementation of the new medical center nor institute benchmarks for the same purpose.”

Executive Summary.
It became apparent immediately that there was a mismatch between the goals of those moderating the hearing and the audience. The neighbors of the future hospital wanted to know what was going to be built in their backyards, but the presenters were still very much in the conceptual stage and had no details to offer. This was a recipe for a bad-tasting meal. The result was continuing frustration on the part the residents who feel information-starved, and not as much substantive input as the master planners must have wished for. Nonetheless, the hearing revealed a few new twists in what is sure to be a continuing organized campaign to delay and/or to build the hospital elsewhere. I will present these below. Additionally, local and regional VA officials attended the hearing and provided me with additional information. Continue reading “Latest Public Hearing About New Louisville VA Hospital.”

The Veterans Administration recently purchased land near the intersection of the Waterson Expressway and RT. 42 on which to build a replacement Robley Rex VA Hospital for Louisville and its surrounding region. One of the long sides of the site borders the tiny 6th class city of Crossgate. It has about 100 homes and a population of 225. The other long side abuts the Watterson. Local residents have been outspoken in their opposition to putting a hospital there, although some prefer it to another shopping center. Commonly expressed objections revolve around worsening traffic, visitors parking in their neighborhood streets, and security; but there are other concerns about the impact on their neighborhood. Continue reading “Crossgate Community Considers Attorney to Advise on New VA Hospital Construction.”

Yesterday, local TV stations, the Wall Street Journal, Business First, the Courier-Journal and others reported that the Veterans Administration purchased the land at its preferred Brownsboro Rd site to build a new VA hospital for Louisville. Reference is made to a news release from the VA, but I have been unable to find one. The purchase price is said to be $12.9 million. Construction start is planned for 2014. Road construction to alleviate traffic congestion is already underway. Still another public forum will be held August 15 in an as yet undisclosed location. If all goes well, the new Robley Rex VA Hospital will be open for business in 2018. I congratulate the VA for getting this done

This has been a long saga. Drawing upon the abundant wisdom of Animal House, it won’t be over until it’s over. I suspect we will be seeing more in the news.

Peter Hasselbacher, MD
July 11, 2012

In late June, it was announced that after more than 10 years of planning and maneuvering, the Veterans Administration in Washington made their final selection of a site on which to build a replacement Veterans Hospital for the current outdated inpatient facility on Zorn Avenue. There is no news about what will be done with the current Robley Rex facility or the land it sits on. Perhaps that is part of the deal. The new location at Brownsboro Rd. and the I-264 Watterson Expressway is not a surprise, having been the favored site for some time.

I hesitate to use the word “final” because the land has not yet been purchased and there is still a formidable panel of influential people who have been fighting for a downtown (or other) location for a long time and are unlikely to give up. Senator McConnell who has been in office for the duration, and our current Representative John Yarmouth, who has not, have pointedly stated publically that they have not tried to influence the final location, only the rate at which the decision has been made. This was a pleasant surprise to me, as I was a lobbyist for UofL in the early days of the process and can confirm that the University lobbied hard at all levels to build a new facility of some sort adjacent to its downtown hospital and was accustomed to receiving earmarks and favors. Continue reading “New Location for Louisville Veterans Hospital: Final at last?”