History

Our History

The mission of the Columbia VA Health Care System is to provide Veterans focused, performance-driven health care – and the main facility, the William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center, has a long and proud history of providing South Carolina Veterans with the highest quality health care.

Constructed in 1932, the first patient was admitted to the Columbia Veteran Affairs (VA) Hospital on December 1, 1932. At that time, the hospital capacity was 306 beds and staff numbered 457.

The land on which the hospital is situated was known as the Hampton-True tract and was donated by Richland County and the City of Columbia for the erection of a Veteran's hospital. It was built by the federal government at a cost of $1.3 million and consisted of 13 buildings located approximately five miles from downtown Columbia.

When first opened, the hospital was a combined facility providing all VA function in the state. In October 1946, activities separated from the hospital and the VA Regional Office was temporarily housed at Fort Jackson Army Hospital until the new federal building was completed in downtown Columbia.

The Columbia VA Hospital became affiliated with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in May 1975. Also in 1975, a satellite outpatient clinic was opened in Greenville, South Carolina to extend medical care and benefits.

In January 1976, ground was broken for a 400-bed replacement hospital with 250,000 square feet of space at a cost of $32 million. Then in November 1977, ground was broken for a 120-bed nursing home care building with 56,304 square feet at a cost of $3.5 million. The new hospital was activated in 1979 followed by the nursing home in 1980.

Psychiatry Service was expanded from 34 to 60 beds in 1979. In 1991, ground was broken for a new $8.7 million 100,299 square foot psychiatry building that was dedicated on June 25, 1993.

On August 28, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 95-353 officially naming the Columbia VA Hospital as the "William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans' Hospital." A famed United States Congressman from South Carolina, William Jennings Bryan Dorn was an Army Veterans who served in the Army Air Forces during WWII.

In Fiscal Year 2021, the Columbia VA Health Care System saw 87,000 unique patients, of which over 9,000 were female Veterans.

The Columbia VA Health Care System provides outpatient care through seven Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) located in South Carolina in the Upstate, Midlands and Pee Dee areas of South Carolina.  The seven CBOCs are located in Anderson, Florence, Greenville, Rock Hill, Orangeburg, Spartanburg, and Sumter.  All clinics with the exception of Rock Hill are VA employee staffed.  All clinics have a mental health component available.

The Dorn VA Medical Center is a level 1b teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services, with state-of-the-art technology, education, and research.  Comprehensive health care is provided through primary care, tertiary care and long-term care in areas of medicine, surgery psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, cardiology, neurology, oncology, dentistry, geriatrics and extended care.

Veterans Benefits Administration and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine are located on the campus of Dorn VAMC. Other affiliations are robust for training of nurses and allied health professions.  

As the medical center moves toward the future, staff are focusing on becoming the provider of choice for Veterans and adapt to meet the increasing needs of our Veterans by:

• Providing efficient and cost-effective health care;
• Developing personalized care plans with an emphasis on preventative care;
• Creating an exceptional Veteran experience;
• Ensuring patients are engaged in their health care decisions; and
• Providing 21st Century Care using 21st Century technology such as MyHealtheVet