| Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Portland, Oregon) | |
| Org/Group: | United States Department of Veterans Affairs |
| Location: | 3710 SW US Veteran Hospital Road |
| Region: | Portland |
| State: | Oregon |
| Country: | US |
| Coordinates: | 45.4971°N -122.6836°W |
| Healthcare: | Veterans |
| Type: | Acute care |
| Beds: | 227 |
| Website: | www.portland.va.gov |
Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Portland VA) is a 160-bed, acute care medical facility[1] opened in 1929 by the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs, located on Marquam Hill in Portland, adjacent to Oregon Health & Sciences University, and is connected to Oregon Health & Science University Hospital via a skybridge. The original hospital was replaced in the 1980s and had a capacity of up-to 478 beds.
The University of Oregon Medical School's regents (now Oregon Health & Science University) donated land on Marquam Hill in 1926 to what is now the Department of Veterans Affairs.[2] The property was to be used to construct a veterans hospital, with construction starting in February 1928.[3] Offices opened at the new facility in November 1928, and patients were transferred to the new hospital in December 1928.[3] In 1932, an administration building opened, followed by 13 quonset huts from 1946 to 1948 following World War II.[2] The last addition to the old campus came in 1949 when a 155-bed tuberculosis hospital opened.[2] The Portland VA started working with the adjacent medical school in 1946 on joint programs.[4]
The Veterans Administration announced in May 1976 that a new hospital would be built in Portland.[5] A local group formed in 1980 to fight construction, and went to court in 1981 to try to stop the project.[5] A new building was finished in 1981 in order to move some operations away from the planned location of the new hospital building.[2] The suit was eventually dismissed in October 1981 by judge Robert C. Belloni, and in January 1982 the design of the new building was unveiled as construction started.[5] The new building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership (now ZGF Architects LLP), with W.B. Bateson Co. serving as the general contractor.[6]
Construction ended in September 1987 on the main building, and it was dedicated in November 1987.[5] In February 1988, the new $136 million facility opened to patients on Marquam Hill after a 364-day delay in construction,[6] [7] and demolition of the old buildings started in May 1988.[5] When the new facility opened, it had a capacity of 478 beds, but never had staffing to operate at full capacity, and as of 1990 only used 399 beds.[8] The final phase of construction was a $11.7 million, 413-space parking garage built starting in 1990.[9]
In 1992, a 660feet long pedestrian bridge linking OHSU Hospital and the VA Hospital opened.[10] [11] The $7.4 million bridge is the longest of its type in North America.[10] Due to staffing problems the VA closed its emergency room at night in April 1994.[12]
Due to budget cuts, the facility announced 150 layoffs in June 1996.[13] At that time, the hospital's budget was $140 million,[13] which grew to $192 million in 2000.[4] In July 2006, the hospital opened a new $3.7 million, 20000ft2 center for hearing disabilities.[14] The Portland VA served 33,000 patients in 2000,[4] 51,000 patients in 2004,[15] which grew to 80,000 in 2012.[1]
Services at the 160-bed medical center's campus include primary care, radiology, speech and language pathology, social work, prosthetics, rehabilitation, emergency care, a pharmacy, and laboratory services, among others.[1] [16] The acute care medical center is accredited by The Joint Commission,[17] and has approximately 80,000 visitors annually.[1]
The 127.77feet main building has nine stories above ground plus a penthouse, and two underground floors.[18] [19] The steel and concrete high-rise building has a total of of space.[19] Overall, the campus has of space.[20] The 660feet long pedestrian bridge linking the medical center to OHSU Hospital was constructed with 2.4e6lbs of steel and is supported by two towers, each tall.[10] [11]