Colorado’s veterans have been promised a new hospital for years, and the runaround they’re getting from bureaucrats in Washington is unconscionable.
Just last week, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs turned over revised plans for the new hospital at Fitzsimons, and to the surprise of many who had toiled on the project for years, the plans had been scaled back to where there would no longer be a stand-alone hospital.
Area veterans had been promised a stand-alone hospital, and in fact a VA commission in 2004 determined that such a facility was the best way to serve veterans.
Clearly there is a problem with the process, exacerbated, we think, by revolving leadership at the VA.
The Colorado congressional delegation, in conjunction with veterans’ leaders, worked hard in advocating for a new veterans hospital and getting Congress to appropriate money for the project.
Since the Fitzsimons project was made a VA priority, the agency has had three different leaders. As the project languished, construction cost estimates escalated to unbelievable heights.
Back in 2005, the project was put at $350 million. Now, the VA says the pricetag has ballooned to $1.1 billion. We know prices have gone up, but that jump seems unbelievable and needs to be scrutinized.
We would hope the VA would take a second look at that estimate and figure out ways to trim the cost.
The cost inflation isn’t the only element of the project that’s difficult to swallow. The VA, it seems, finished a master plan for the Fitzsimons facility months ago, but then withheld it, said U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, who has been pushing for the hospital for years. He called the action a “breach of public trust.”
We agree. At the very least, the VA owes it to the veterans and elected leaders in this area to conduct an open and inclusive planning process.
Changing plans midstream without bringing in the people who would use the facility or those who put their political capital to work to get money for the project is an affront.
Furthermore, it makes no sense for the VA to use stealth tactics to cement in a new vision for VA health care in the region during the waning months of the Bush administration.
Since a new president will take office in January, there almost certainly will be a new VA secretary in place as well. With new leadership, there very well may be yet another change of direction on the hospital.
Veterans and their advocates have waited a long time for the new facility. Several of them recently said at a press event that they were ready, willing and able to start digging the foundation themselves.
We hope the VA reconsiders its decision and honors the commitment made to veterans in the Colorado region. The long-anticipated, stand-alone facility is sorely needed and further delay is unacceptable.
