Vietnam Veterans of America
Chapter 1024, Orange County, California
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One of the seven buildings of Project 402 at the Veterans Administration Long Beach Medical Center
LONG BEACH VETERAN'S HOSPITAL OPENS!
January 25, 2012
With the 1st Marine Division band's brass instruments shining and its drums thumping, military and other officials Wednesday, January 25, 2012 dedicated more than $100 million in additions at the Veteran Administration's Long Beach Medical Center.
The unveiling of the nearly three-year project was headlined by a rehabilitation center for the blind named for Maj. Charles Robert Soltes Jr., who was killed Oct. 13, 2004, in Mosul, Iraq, when his convoy was attacked with an improvised explosive device.
"This truly is a great day," said Dr. Robert Petzel, undersecretary for health in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "We make one more installment to the debt of gratitude that we owe to America's heroes."
Petzel and other officials said the new construction - which included new space for a pharmacy, emergency medicine, primary care, a 350-seat auditorium and a canteen and retail store - were designed to accommodate an integrated medical care model for current and past service men and women.
The model is part of a system-wide effort to expand access to services, reduce the backlog of disability claims and end veteran homelessness.
At the 24-bed blind rehabilitation center, clinicians will focus on teaching visually-impaired veterans independent living skills such as home management and food preparation, so they can meet their daily needs safely and efficiently. The only other comparably sized facility is in Tucson, Ariz., said VA spokeswoman Jessica Thomsen.
"This has really been built to serve the entire southwest," Thomsen said.
Glass, aluminum and steel construction dominate the new buildings, totaling 200,000 square feet, standing in stark contrast to the existing 1940s-era concrete facades of most of the existing buildings. The project replaced several U.S. Navy structures built in 1943 that were considered to be deteriorating and seismically deficient.
January 25, 2012
With the 1st Marine Division band's brass instruments shining and its drums thumping, military and other officials Wednesday, January 25, 2012 dedicated more than $100 million in additions at the Veteran Administration's Long Beach Medical Center.
The unveiling of the nearly three-year project was headlined by a rehabilitation center for the blind named for Maj. Charles Robert Soltes Jr., who was killed Oct. 13, 2004, in Mosul, Iraq, when his convoy was attacked with an improvised explosive device.
"This truly is a great day," said Dr. Robert Petzel, undersecretary for health in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "We make one more installment to the debt of gratitude that we owe to America's heroes."
Petzel and other officials said the new construction - which included new space for a pharmacy, emergency medicine, primary care, a 350-seat auditorium and a canteen and retail store - were designed to accommodate an integrated medical care model for current and past service men and women.
The model is part of a system-wide effort to expand access to services, reduce the backlog of disability claims and end veteran homelessness.
At the 24-bed blind rehabilitation center, clinicians will focus on teaching visually-impaired veterans independent living skills such as home management and food preparation, so they can meet their daily needs safely and efficiently. The only other comparably sized facility is in Tucson, Ariz., said VA spokeswoman Jessica Thomsen.
"This has really been built to serve the entire southwest," Thomsen said.
Glass, aluminum and steel construction dominate the new buildings, totaling 200,000 square feet, standing in stark contrast to the existing 1940s-era concrete facades of most of the existing buildings. The project replaced several U.S. Navy structures built in 1943 that were considered to be deteriorating and seismically deficient.