VA Pittsburgh receives funding for continued infrastructure improvements

The funding is part of a record $4.8 billion in nationwide VA spending to modernize, repair, and improve health care facilities in FY2026 via the Veterans Health Administration’s Non-recurring Maintenance program.

Funding for VAPHS in the third quarter of FY2026 will be used to:

• Upgrade infrastructure at the University Drive (UD) and H.J. Heinz III campuses to accommodate Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM). VHA’s EHRM provides a seamless and paperless transition for veterans moving from receiving care on active duty to receiving care at VA.
• Renovate three floors at UD as part of an ongoing plan to move patient-facing areas to lower levels for Veterans’ convenience, reducing wait times and elevator trips.
• Repair fire and smoke dampers at UD.
• Replace sanitizing, coil ultraviolet lighting systems in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system at UD.
• Repair concrete and expansion joints at UD’s parking garage.
• Replace piping that carries clean, pressurized water from the city’s lines to Primary Care at UD.
• Modernize sterile-processing service’s medical-instrument cleaning and water-filtration systems for cleaning, disinfecting and packaging medical/surgical tools at UD. 

“This funding allows VA Pittsburgh to continue modernizing and improving, so our facility remains safe, efficient and equipped to provide high-quality care for our veterans in Pittsburgh,” said Derek Coughenour, interim executive director.

Of the total $4.8 billion committed for fiscal year 2026, VA has obligated a total of $2.2 billion. That obligation of funds in the third quarter includes:

• $915 million to repair and upgrade outdated infrastructure systems in medical facilities.
• $229 million for maintenance and modernization of facility infrastructure to support future electronic health record system updates.
• $11 million for major building upgrades like elevators, electrical systems, and boiler plants.

This investment is just one of many ways the Trump Administration is making VA work better for veterans. For example, VA has: 

• Enrolled more than 180,000 new veterans in VA health care in 2026.
• Opened 38 new VA health care facilities since Jan. 20, 2025, expanding health care access for veterans around the country.
• Reduced the backlog of veterans waiting for VA benefits by 72% since Jan. 20, 2025, after it increased 24% during the Biden Administration. In February, this backlog fell to less than 100,000 claims for the first time since 2020.
• Offered veterans more than 2.8 million appointments outside of normal operating hours. These early-morning, evening, and weekend appointments are giving veterans more timely and convenient options for care.
• Permanently housed 51,936 homeless Veterans across the country in FY25, the highest total in seven years.