The Veterans Affairs Hospital in West Haven, Connecticut, is getting major upgrades.
The federal government is supporting the project with $153 million — and more money may be coming.
Some buildings on the campus are more than 70 years old.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) visited the campus on Monday morning. He said it needs a new surgical and clinical care tower, parking garage and the existing buildings need renovations.
“Many of the most modern surgical and other clinical techniques are impossible because the buildings are aged or aging,” Blumenthal said. “And that means that we need to move forward with this kind of new construction as quickly as possible.”
Blumenthal is co-sponsoring a bill, the Fiscal Year 2024 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act, which would dedicate an additional half a billion dollars to the project. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) also co-sponsors the legislation.
It would be one of 11 facilities nationwide to receive federal funding for upgrades. The other hospitals are located in Washington, Texas, Maryland, Oregon, Nevada, California, Puerto Rico and Missouri.
Blumenthal said he hopes the legislation will be passed in the coming months.
“Men and women who have served their country deserve the very best, the gold standard in medical care, and that's what these new facilities will enable,” Blumenthal said. “You simply cannot deliver world-class medicine in a substandard building.”
