History
Explore the rich heritage of the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System.
Since the mid-20th century, Denver has served as the center of Veterans’ care in Eastern Colorado.
What began as the Denver VA on Clermont Street has evolved, over time, into the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, which now serves as the headquarters of VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System.
Although the buildings and campuses have changed over the decades, VA Eastern Colorado has consistently committed to innovation, medical research and accessible Veteran care.
A city in need
After World War II, demand for Veterans’ health care in the Rocky Mountain region far exceeded capacity.
World War II VA Poster (National Archives, 515383)
In 1946, Cheyenne VA Medical Center, then the closest VA hospital to Denver, faced a backlog of more than 280 Veterans awaiting care. Nationally, VA expanded capacity by acquiring 6 Army and Navy hospitals, but more than 25,000 Veterans were in need of care.
With approximately 150,000 Veterans living in Colorado at that time, federal and community leaders advanced plans to establish a full-service VA hospital in Denver to provide general medicine, surgical care and mental health services, with a focus on research and development.
The only VA hospital in Colorado was Fort Lyon, serving Veterans in the southeastern corner of the state. Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver had 300 beds for VA emergency use, but a dedicated hospital to meet Veterans’ needs was not available.
In the interim, VA designated Fort Logan in southwest Denver as a much-needed tuberculosis hospital until it could construct a modern, purpose-built facility.
Clermont campus
In 1947, VA proposed a 500-bed hospital in Denver and began searching for at least 15 acres of land. The selected land sat adjacent to Rose Memorial, Colorado General Hospital, and the University of Colorado School of Medicine (CU), forming a collaborative medical center just east of downtown.
Denver Medical Center Hospitals (Denver Public Library Special Collections, X-23271)
VA hospitals of this era, known as “Third Generation Hospitals,” stood in urban areas with access to medical schools and community hospitals. This proximity to other medical researchers encouraged the sharing of resources and talent, benefiting Veterans.
On October 8, 1948, John W. Furneaux, a World War II Veteran, turned the first soil at the groundbreaking. Furneaux lost both legs in a German prison hospital after his plane was shot down. Construction contracts went to Del E. Webb Construction Co. (Los Angeles), Otis Elevator Co. (Washington, DC), and Kohlenburger Engineering Corp. (Fullerton, CA). Contracts totaled $8.5 million.
Denver VA under construction, 1949
Campus plans included a 500-bed hospital, plus a garage, a heating plant and a laundry plant. This was a time when employees often lived on campus, so there were several residential buildings for nurses, attendants, managers and other personnel.
The hospital at 9th Avenue and Clermont Street opened in 1951, with a final project cost of $13 million, including $3 million for facility equipment and $10 million for construction.
Denver VA Hospital, 1956 (National Archives, 3384-A)
Staff formally dedicated the hospital on September 2, following its August 27 opening, and welcomed 1,500 attendees. The 9-story, 410,000-square-foot facility offered 504 beds: 352 for general medicine and surgery, 142 for mental health, and 10 for physical medicine and rehabilitation, including a 10-bed ward for female Veterans and a staff of 600.
On opening day, staff transferred 228 Veterans from Fort Logan. Shortly thereafter, admissions grew to 25-30 new Veterans per day. Within months, they reached capacity, with a backlog of about 200 patients awaiting care.
In 1954, VA moved its outpatient medical, dental and mental health clinics, previously renting space downtown, to the hospital, consolidating treatment onto one campus.
Pioneering research
From its earliest years, the hospital combined clinical care, medical research and innovation. By 1950, VA operated 14 radiation detection laboratories across the country, including one at Fort Logan.
After opening the hospital in 1951, Denver VA researchers quickly expanded this work, using radioactive isotopes to study cancer cells and refine early diagnostic and treatment methods.
Congress appropriated funds in the mid-1950s to strengthen the hospital’s research mission. Working with CU, researchers advanced understanding of chronic mental illness, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary function, geriatrics, infectious diseases, tuberculosis, fungal diseases, cancer, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, brain chemistry and age-related tissue changes, continually improving Veteran treatment.
By the late 1950s, Denver VA researchers earned national recognition for innovations in endocrinology, particularly in growth hormone and pituitary research.
Leaders in transplantation
In 1960, VA announced plans to add more laboratory space to support expanding research.
The following year, the hospital converted existing space into a 10-bed intensive nursing care unit. New drug therapies in the early 1960s reduced tuberculosis admissions, freeing beds for other medical needs.
In 1963, Denver VA, working jointly with CU, became a global pioneer in organ transplantation.
Dr. Thomas Starzl performing liver transplant surgery at Denver VA, 1963. (starzl.pitt.edu)
Under the leadership of Dr. Thomas Starzl and his team, the hospital performed some of the earliest kidney transplants and performed the world’s first liver transplant. Early liver transplant patients survived about 3 weeks until pneumonia or other pulmonary causes claimed their lives. Despite the losses, the transplanted livers functioned until the end.
In 1967, improved anti-lymphocyte serum, developed by VA surgeon Dr. James Amend and colleagues, increased success rates, enabling liver transplant patients to live for more than a year.
Learn more about Denver VA’s pioneering transplantation: Object 83: First Liver Transplantation at VA Hospital
Also in 1963, a few months after beginning liver transplantations, Dr. Starzl and his team made medical history again with the first spleen transplant. However, the transplant failed about a year later, and research shifted focus to other organs.
In 1968 and 1969, VA surgeons performed Colorado’s first and second heart transplants, respectively. These progressive procedures placed Denver VA at the forefront of transplant surgery and cardiovascular research.
In 1969, aiming to sustain this trajectory, the hospital proposed and began constructing a new 3-story research facility in 1970. Staff dedicated the over-18,000-square-foot research addition in conjunction with the hospital’s 20th anniversary in 1971.
That period also brought new clinical capacity, including a 10-bed coronary and intensive care unit and a 15-bed drug-treatment center intended to serve Veterans from across the country.
In 1974, a prosthetic care center began supporting 10 VA hospitals across the Rocky Mountain region, strengthening rehabilitation services for Veterans with limb loss and other mobility needs.
Modernization and expanding access
Major campus modernization followed in the 1980s. This included a $40.5 million renovation program that added 2 wings and a 60-bed nursing home. The nursing home opened in July 1986. Renovations were completed later that fall.
Denver VA Medical Center Atrium, 1986
In 1996, Denver joined the newly organized VA Rocky Mountain Network, Veterans Integrated Service Network 19 (VISN 19) as one of 22 VISNs established across VA.
VISNs were created to decentralize VA as medical care transitioned from a primarily inpatient model to outpatient care delivered through community-based clinics.
Denver VA became VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in 2003, solidifying its role as the hub of VISN 19.
By 1998, VA had committed to a 20-year modernization effort that included replacing hospitals and expanding access to care for Veterans through community-based clinics. This effort, along with the influx of returning Veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, reshaped VA Eastern Colorado into what we see today.
Access to VA care expanded significantly in the 2000s and 2010s. After the closure of Fort Lyon VA Medical Center in southeastern Colorado in 2001, VA opened clinics in La Junta, Lamar and Alamosa and established a VA Nursing Home (now a Community Living Center) in Pueblo.
More clinics opened in Burlington (2006) and Aurora (2007). In 2010, VA Eastern Colorado partnered with the Department of Defense and Florida State University to launch the Military Research Consortium focused on studying military suicides and informing prevention and treatment.
A series of new clinics opened across the Front Range and eastern plains from 2013 to 2017, further improving access and continuity of care.
Valor Point Homeless Domiciliary, a 25,000-square-foot, 40-bed residential treatment facility for Veterans experiencing homelessness, opened in Lakewood in the summer of 2013.
In 2014, VA Eastern Colorado saw a boom in community clinic construction, with 6 opening across the region: Golden VA Clinic (Golden), PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom VA Clinic (Colorado Springs), Jewell VA Clinic (Aurora), Lamar VA Clinic (Lamar), Salida VA Clinic (Salida) and York Street VA Clinic (Denver). Pueblo VA Clinic opened in 2013 and was rededicated in 2017 as the PFC James Dunn VA Clinic.
Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center
In 2018, VA Eastern Colorado opened Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center (RMR) in Aurora. This highly anticipated opening was over a decade in the making.
As early as 2000, discussions were held about improving VA Eastern Colorado. When CU announced a plan to relocate its hospital, the idea was that VA Eastern Colorado would move along with them to continue their partnership.
While a proposed shared space with CU’s new hospital would potentially alleviate heavy expenditures for VA, Veterans and Veteran Service Organizations opposed the idea. Another obstacle in a possible joint venture was that the proposed site was too small to accommodate what VA Eastern Colorado envisioned for its Veterans.
The originally suggested 12.5 acres next to Fitzsimons, where CU was moving, was smaller than the Clermont campus and was far less than the 38 acres VA was seeking.
By 2003, Congress had approved $30 million to move forward with the design and planning of Denver’s replacement VA medical center. However, it was predicted that construction funding would be approved closer to 2008.
The need for a new hospital was becoming urgent.
The Clermont campus was falling into disrepair. In 2004, a report by the Office of Inspector General cited Denver VA as passing only 4 of the 16 standards. Most were easy fixes completed within a year. Despite the hospital’s flaws, it ranked first in the nation for quality of patient care among VA Medical Centers the same year.
When the CU Anschutz Medical Campus opened in 2007, VA was still in the planning stages of its replacement hospital project. A site was approved in 2005: 20 acres with room to acquire more land if needed, at the corner of East Colfax Avenue and Potomac Street, near the I-225.
Site of Replacement Hospital, 2012
It would take 5 more years for VA to design the facility, determine its budget and hire contractors.
RMR broke ground in 2010, and construction on the $604 million facility began the next year. After 4 years of construction, contractors paused the project, citing that VA had given them plans they could not build within budget. VA refused the contractor's suggested changes, and the disagreement went to court.
Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center Construction, 2013
To get the project back up and running, VA paid the contractor over $150 million, and shortly after, the contractors returned to work. The Army Corps of Engineers was asked to step in and assist, and only then was a more accurate price tag for the facility determined.
Since the beginning of the project, no one had been able to provide an accurate snapshot of total construction costs until the Army Corps builders assessed the situation. The estimated final cost of the 1.46-million-square-foot facility was $1.73 billion.
This included a redesign of the facility, overall construction costs, Army Corps of Engineers costs and other contingencies, plus the cost to close out the original contract so the Army Corps could take over. This did not include an additional $340 million for furnishing and equipping the facility.
Services at RMR began on July 27, 2018, with patient transfers from the Clermont campus completed on August 4. The new medical center consolidated specialty and acute care services, modernized clinical spaces to enhance safety and patient experience and strengthened research and education partnerships with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado opened in 2018
Continued growth
The 2020s saw another boom in community access through new and relocated clinics. Colorado Springs alone added 3 new clinics: Union Boulevard VA Clinic (2020), Garden of the Gods VA Clinic (2023) and Space Center VA Clinic (2023). In 2025, Castle Rock VA Clinic and the Lt. Col. John W. Mosley VA Clinic in Aurora also opened.
Today, VA Eastern Colorado provides care across central and southeastern Colorado, anchored by RMR in Aurora and supported by 17 community-based clinics. The system also operates a Community Referral and Resource Center, a 40-bed Community Living Center and a 40-bed residential treatment facility for unhoused Veterans.
As the headquarters of VA Rocky Mountain Network (VISN 19), VA Eastern Colorado advances Veterans care through innovation, collaboration and research.
Our research develops health care leaders whose innovations improve the lives of Veterans. Major areas of research include kidney disease, burn trauma, cardiology, diabetes, endocrinology, geriatrics, infectious diseases, mental health, suicide prevention, oncology, hematology, pulmonology and substance abuse.
From its founding mission to relieve urgent postwar demand to decades of medical innovation, VA Eastern Colorado will continue to deliver Veteran-centered care while advancing science that shapes the future of health for those who serve and beyond.
Architectural Significance: Clermont Campus
Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado
Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (FAMC) grew from Army Hospital No. 21 founded during World War I to provide care for the large numbers of casualties suffering from chemical weapons and tuberculosis returning from Europe. The successes enjoyed by Colorado’s facilities for treating respiratory problems caused the Army to give strong consideration to calls from Denverites to locate a new hospital in the city. Their lobbying proved successful in 1917 and construction began later that year. During the fall of 1918 the Army dedicated the new facility in Denver’s eastern suburb of Aurora. The hospital was renamed Fitzsimons General Hospital during June of 1920 in honor of Lt. William T. Fitzsimons, the first American medical officer killed in World War I. The FAMC closed in 1999 and the grounds were redeveloped for civilian use at the Anschutz Medical Campus and the Fitzsimons Life Science District, including the Veterans Hospital complex.
Fitzsimons General Hospital - swimming pool
(Fitzsimons General Hospital, Building 614)
(Fitzsimons General Hospital, Building 423)
The Swimming Pool, erected in 1945, is associated with the expansion of facilities at Fitzsimons General Hospital during World War II. The building is associated with the hospital’s mission, having been originally used for patient therapy. The building represents war era construction of permanent buildings at the post through its blond brick walls, gabled roof, and large multilight windows.
Library of Congress - Fitzsimons General Hospital swimming pool
Fitzsimons General Hospital - neuropsychiatric ward
(Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. Building 608)
(Fitzsimons General Hospital, Ward 411)
The Neuropsychiatric Ward (Building No. 608) was constructed ca. 1942, as Fitzsimons Army Hospital expanded to fulfil its World War II mission. Soon after its completion, the building housed a neuropsychiatric ward to accommodate Fitzsimons’ diversification away from tuberculosis care and toward more generalized care. In 1962, the Army used building for administrative purposed. The building experienced a number of renovations to accommodate subsequent changes in its use, but continued to support the mission of the hospital.
Library of Congress - Fitzsimons General Hospital neuropsychiatric ward
Denver Veterans Administration Medical Center
The Denver Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center (DVAMC) was constructed between 1948 and 1951. The facility consisted of a large hospital building (Building 1) and approximately fifteen support buildings and structures. The DVAMC, which changed over time to meet evolving medical care requirements and technologies, was the primary VA facility in Colorado for over fifty years.
Two major policies shaped postwar VA hospital construction. New VA hospitals were constructed in urban areas and affiliated with medical schools. This was a significant change from the decades long policy that emphasized the construction of hospitals in rural areas and independence from other healthcare facilities. Postwar VA hospitals were also constructed based on standard designs developed by VA architects. The DVAMC met all these conditions.
The VA built the DVAMC in the well-established Hale neighborhood, within the city’s urban core and adjacent to Colorado Boulevard, a state highway. Construction of the hospital completed the infill of the neighborhood and allowed the facility to serve the city’s veteran population, which had grown exponentially after the war. Moreover, the medical center was located between two existing medical complexes. The University of Colorado Hospital and Medical School bordered the DVAMC to the west. The association with the medical school was a vitally important to the Veterans Administration’s postwar vision in which the agency worked cooperatively with medical schools. Another hospital, the Rose Medical Center, was east of the DVAMC. The three medical institutions created a large area that was dedicated to cooperative medical care and instruction. The relationship between the Denver hospitals continued into the 2000s when the University of Colorado and VA began transferring their operations east to new facilities on the former site of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora Colorado where they have continued their collaborative relationship. The Rose Medical Center remains in its original location.
Building 1
The VA hospital (Building 1), which was constructed in 1951, was the most prominent building on the DVAMC campus. It defined the southern half of the Denver VA Medical Center campus. The irregular shaped building was primarily clad in red brick with white sandstone accents and varied in heights between three and eleven-stories tall. The hospital, which featured International Style design elements, was one of the first facilities designed by the agency’s own architecture and engineering staff using standardized plans.
Building 1, South Elevation, Mid-1960s. This portion of the building was completely obscured by additions in the 1980s.
Left: Original Plan, DVAMC Building 1, South and North Elevations, 1948, (REV. 1954). Right: Original Plan, DVAMC Building 1, West and East Elevations, 1948, (REV. 1954).
Building 1, East Elevation - Circa mid-1960s.
The VA confronted near constant challenge throughout the decades that the hospital was in operation. The facility served an increasing number of patients, especially after the United States entered the Vietnam War, and needed to evolve as the medical needs of patients changed. In order to meet these challenges, the hospital was significantly modified and modernized throughout its history with major additions in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
East Elevation of Building 1 showing original building elements - Photo taken 2020.
Building 4
Constructed in 1948, Building 4 was initially the facility’s nurse’s quarters but was converted into medical and administrative space by the 1980s. The building, located at the northeast corner of the hospital campus, was designed in a simple modern commercial style. Clad in red brick, the building has simple ornamentation, white sandstone sills and door surrounds, and remains relatively unchanged.
Left: Building 4 - Circa mid-1960s. Right: West Elevation, Building 4 - Photo taken 2020.
Building 6
Constructed in 1948 as a garage, Building 6, was part of a complex of maintenance and physical plant buildings. Fitting its historic use, the one-story building was rectangular and utilitarian in design. Similar to other buildings on the site, it is clad in red brick, with white sandstone accents, as seen in the belt course and windowsills. It retains the original steel casement windows.
Left: Building 6 - Circa mid-1960s. Right: West Elevation, Building 6 - Photo taken 2020.
Building 8
Building 8 served as the boiler plant for the medical campus, and is located in the same maintenance complex as Building 6. Following the same design philosophy of the larger campus, it is also red brick clad with white sandstone accents. Building 8 also retains its character defining steel awning windows. The two-story L-shaped building also includes a 1966 one-story addition.
Left: Building 8 - Circa mid-1960s. Right: East Elevation, Building 8 - Photo taken 2020.
It became clear by the early 2000s that the DVAMC could no longer provide the most effective care to patients. The VA began looking for a new site and ultimately returned to its roots, the former site of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. A new hospital, the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center opened in 2019. Most VA operations are based out of the new campus. The DVAMC provides Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) outpatient care in a single building on the Claremont campus. The hospital has been sold to a private investor.