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VA Pittsburgh plans
temporary housing to accommodate families of ailing
vets
Pittsburgh
Business Times - June 29, 2007
by Kris B. Mamula
The VA
Pittsburgh Healthcare System is getting a place for
out-of-town veterans and their families to stay
while receiving medical care, signaling the center's
growing role as a regional clinical research and
specialized care facility.
The VA arranges
accommodations for around 30 families and veterans a
week who come to Pittsburgh for treatment, according
to Ron Rabold, acting associate director of site
management. Veterans from 49 states came to
Pittsburgh for care in fiscal 2006. Construction of
the 21-suite, 5,600-square-foot building will
streamline arrangements for lodging, he said.
"We feel we'll
probably keep it busy," Rabold said. "There's
definitely a need for it."
Fisher House
Foundation, a Rockville, Md.-based nonprofit, will
pay most of the construction costs, which range
between $3.5 million and $4.5 million, according to
foundation spokesman Jim Weiskopf. Of that sum,
about $2 million will have to be raised locally.
Because the VA is prohibited from fundraising, the
state American Legion is soliciting donations for
the project, he said.
Astorino Inc. is
designing the project, and construction is expected
to begin in 2009 with local contractors. There are
38 Fisher houses nationwide, and the foundation
builds and furnishes the homes, then donates them to
the VA and Department of Defense. The local VA is
responsible for operation and maintenance expenses.
Guests stay without charge as long as the veteran is
undergoing long-term outpatient or inpatient
treatment.
Places like
Walter Reed Army Medical Center provide acute
medical care for soldiers returning from war, but
the VA Pittsburgh provides follow-up care, including
physical and occupational therapy.
Meanwhile, an
increase in research is fueling an increase in the
kinds of care available at the VA, according to Dr.
Ali Sonel, associate chief of staff for research and
development. The VA had: a total of $22.4 million in
research funding in fiscal 2006, an increase of 30
percent since 2000.
Also,
construction is expected to begin in early 2009 for
a 65,000-square-foot research building on the
Oakland campus, which will replace existing VA
facilities, according to Tim Powers, senior vice
president at Astorino. The value of the project is
$29 million, he said.
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