History
Explore the rich heritage of the VA Salem Healthcare System.
The location of what would become the Salem VA Medical Center was approved in 1933 by President Herbert Hoover. Engineers from the Veterans Administration visited many proposed sites but chose Roanoke due to its main line railroads, bus lines, paved highways, and the availability of water, gas, electric, and sewer services. The original construction cost was $1.75 million and ground was broken Jan. 16, 1934. Construction was completed four months ahead of schedule.
On October 19, 1934, the United States Veterans Administration Hospital in Salem, Virginia was dedicated during a speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in front of an estimated crowd of 40,000 where the flagpole now stands in front of Bldg. 2. The address he gave, broadcast nationally on the radio, marked the only time a sitting US President has officially opened a VA Hospital - a distinction that continues to this day.
The Salem VA Medical Center was the first hospital to be constructed under Roosevelt's administration and was primarily a neuropsychiatric facility. Built on 445 acres, it opened with an initial workforce of 450-500. Today the facility employs more than 1,800. The facility was also opened as a working farm where patients raised cattle, hogs, and food as part of their therapy.
Today, the Salem VAMC is a Complexity 1c facility with a full range of patient care services including medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine, rehabilitation, and dentistry to name a few. A teaching hospital, Salem VAMC works with several major colleges and universities to train the next generation of health care providers.