About us
Our goal is to be the best VA hospital in quality, access, and patient satisfaction.
About the VA Western Colorado Healthcare System
The VA Western Colorado Healthcare System provides you with outstanding health care, trains America’s future health care providers, and conducts important medical research.
Health care and services
We provide you with health care services at five locations in western Colorado and eastern Utah: our Grand Junction VA Medical Center (hospital) and four community-based outpatient clinics. We also have a community living center (nursing home), and a mobile medical clinic that brings health care services to Veterans in rural areas.
Our community living center offers short-stay rehabilitation, hospice, skilled nursing, respite care, and long-term care for those who need it. Our mobile clinic features two exam rooms, a counseling section, and a blood draw unit. It’s also equipped with telehealth services to provide virtual health care options for Veterans who can’t easily travel to one of our facilities. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the Western Colorado health services page.
The VA Western Colorado Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the Rocky Mountain Region. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 19 (VISN 19), which spans 540,000 square miles across 10 states. VISN 19 includes medical centers in Aurora and Grand Junction, Colorado; Fort Harrison, Montana; Cheyenne and Sheridan, Wyoming; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Oklahoma City and Muskogee, Oklahoma; and 123 other health care sites.
Research and development
We conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and healthcare for all.
Teaching and learning
The VA Western Colorado Healthcare System is affiliated with a variety of academic institutions. We’re proud of our partnerships with top schools and institutions that support the educational mission of the VA.
Through these relationships we support internships and residencies in several major medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties. We also offer training in chaplain services, kinesiology, mental health, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, psychology, and radiology.
Fast facts
- In 2019, we had 750 employees, treated 15,238 unique patients, and completed 204,797 outpatient visits.
- Of the Veterans we treated in 2019, 1,454 were women, 4,037 served in the Persian Gulf, 6,947 during the Vietnam War, 973 during the Korean conflict, and 340 in World War II. Most of the other Veterans we treated did their military service between wars.
- Our 2019 operating budget was more than $394 million.
- Our medical center has 55 inpatient beds and 5 emergency room beds.
- We recently added a new state-of-the-art Physical Medicine Rehabilitation and Prosthetics building. The 20,000 square-foot facility helps Veterans from western Colorado and eastern Utah to improve their mobility and quality of life.
- Every year, we host the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic. The week-long event promotes health and wellness through adaptive sports, like Alpine and Nordic skiing, rock climbing, sled hockey, and self-defense. Established in 1987 with 90 participants, the event continues to grow each year. In 2018, 390 Veterans from 107 VA facilities took part—146 of those Veterans were new to the Winter Sports Clinic, and 64 were women.
Accreditation and achievements
Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from:
- The Joint Commission
- College of American Pathologists
The VA Western Colorado Healthcare System received the following awards:
- 2001 Presidential Award for Quality – the first and only VA organization ever to earn this award
- 1999 Robert W. Carey Quality Award Trophy