Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
March 24, 2015 01:00 AM

Congressional ire grows over delays, rising costs for VA hospitals

Andis Robeznieks
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Congressional scrutiny is intensifying for Veterans Affairs Department hospital projects that are costing more and taking longer to build than originally planned.

    The VA responded to congressional requests for information last week with a request of its own: an additional $830 million that would bring a Denver-area project's total cost to $1.73 billion, more than five times its original $328 million estimate.

    “The estimate includes the cost of construction, contingencies, and Army Corps of Engineers costs, as well as VA's cost to close out the original contract and continue construction until the Army Corps of Engineers assumes construction management duties this summer,” VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson wrote in a letter to Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs' Committee. “I would like to reiterate—the situation in Denver is unacceptable to veterans, taxpayers and department leadership.”

    Isakson and the committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, called this news “appalling” and noted how area veterans deserve “the state-of-the-art facility” promised years ago.

    “The American public, particularly our nation's veterans, deserve to know who is responsible and what will be done to remedy these serious issues,” Isakson and Blumenthal said in a release. “We expect a full report on what future actions the VA will take to prevent a repeat of this disastrous construction project.”

    Colorado's congressional delegation responded with a bipartisan statement of its own that expressed outrage at the costs, but support for completing the project. Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican who visited the hospital construction site on March 13, was among those who offered comments.

    “This is a critical facility that our Colorado veterans have earned and need, so I remain committed to ensure we bring the project to completion,” Lamborn said in the statement. “However, the previous mismanagement and lack of construction supervision within the VA clearly requires additional congressional oversight to ensure better accountability and determine the best way forward regarding the VA's ability to build hospitals.”

    The 182-bed project covers more than 1.1 million square feet on a 31-acre Aurora, Colo., site and includes inpatient buildings, outpatient clinics, research facilities, and visitor and staff parking garages. It is being built as a joint venture between Kiewit Building Group and Turner Construction Co.

    "Kiewit-Turner is focused on moving this important project forward for Colorado-area veterans," Tom Janssen, a spokesman for the contractor, said. "That has always been our priority. The recently released budget estimate for the Denver VA Hospital is a vital step. We are confident that VA and Congress will work together to secure the necessary funds to finish this important project."

    Congressional calls for action follow a Government Accountability Office report (PDF) in January that detailed how hospital projects in Aurora, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Orlando, Fla., were costing between 66% and 144% above initial estimates and were between 14 and 86 months behind schedule.

    The original estimate for the Colorado project is from June 2004, and the project was originally scheduled to open February 2014, according to the January GAO report.

    The Aurora and New Orleans projects had originally been envisioned to be shared facilities with local universities but were revised to be stand-alone medical centers, adding considerably to their cost and construction time, the report noted.

    Revisions were only part of the problem at Aurora. Asbestos needed to be removed and faulty wiring replaced at an existing building on the site, a “buried swimming pool” needed to be removed, and the discovery of an underground spring required continual pumping of water away from the site.

    The report also cited how, in an attempt to lower costs and speed the project along, managers decided to use integrated-project-delivery methods.

    In IPD, referred to as “integrated design and construction” in the report, designers and building contractors work side by side from the beginning of the project to avoid conflicts and the need for revisions. The GAO said IPD was not implemented soon enough to realize its benefits and the building contractor hadn't been hired until designs were completed.

    The Aurora hospital is being built on the sprawling Anschutz Medical Campus. The Orlando VA Medical Center is being built at a similar development, the Lake Nona Medical City complex. The Florida project is coming under similar fire.

    The GAO notes that the Florida project's cost has grown from an initial estimate of $245 million to $616 million. It was supposed to open in April 2010, but that has been pushed back. A primary-care clinic opened last month and “the campus activation process is expected to continue through the summer, with the emergency department and hospital as the last functions expected to open,” according to a release. An Orlando VA Medical Center spokeswoman said the hospital will open in “2016 or earlier.”

    The GAO reported that the site of the Orlando VA Medical Center changed three times between 2004 and 2010. Its first location was deemed too small. Before the VA could close the deal on a second location, the landowner sold half the property to another buyer and the site was again determined to be too small for the VA's purposes, according to the GAO report.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    CN_2021122p35_Smallhold Royal Trumpet Mushrooms 9.85_Buck Ennis_i.jpg
    Psychedelic therapy providers get creative as costs trip up patients
    Shafer Dr. David Shafer Clinic Botox cropped9.49.jpg
    A Botox boom for back-to-work
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
      • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing