DENVER—Some veterans are frustrated by the pace of work on an $800 million Veterans Affairs hospital in Denver slated to be built to serve Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.
Ralph Bozella, chairman of the Colorado Board of Veterans Affairs, said Wednesday that the site has been cleared for the 200-bed facility but delays in a federal audit have kept construction from starting.
That could delay the full opening of the hospital by about four months, to May 2014, Bozella said. The opening date has been pushed back before.
“It is frustrating, but it’s not to the point that we’re despondent over it,” Bozella said.
VA spokesman Jordan Schupbach said the audit is a standard procedure that ensures money already spent on site-clearing was used properly. He said the audit should be completed this week or next.
An aide to Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., said any delays in finishing the hospital shouldn’t be blamed on the audit.
“Other things that have to happen are still happening,” said Leslie Oliver, Perlmutter’s communications and policy director. Land acquisition, site preparation and design work are progressing as planned, she said.
The state veterans board will get a briefing from the VA and Perlmutter’s office on Tuesday.
The VA officially broke ground on the hospital in August. It will include a 30-bed spinal cord injury center.
The hospital will be on the University of Colorado medical campus in the east Denver suburb of Aurora. It replaces a 59-year-old facility in southeast Denver.
