VA »
Health Care »
VA Butler Healthcare
» Press Releases
»
VA Announces Contract for New Butler Health Care Center
VA Butler Healthcare
VA Announces Contract for New Butler Health Care Center
June 27, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 14, 2012
Butler, PA – The Department of Veterans Affairs(VA) has selected the developer to build the new Health Care Center (HCC) on the 21-acre Deshon Woods property in Butler County. The contract was awarded to Westar Development Company in Aurora, Ohio.
“The Health Care Center is an exciting milestone, and one that preserves VA’s established presence as a valued asset for our Veterans in the Butler community conveniently located adjacent to the existing property,” said VA Butler Director John Gennaro. “The new Health Care Center will allow VA to provide our Veterans the best care anywhere in a new state-of-the-art facility.”
VA will lease the facility from the Westar Development Company for $6.2 million annually during a 20-year term once construction is complete. Westar Development Company has 50 years of experience as a real estate development and management company, including developing over 4 million square feet of properties for the Federal Government.
The contract calls for construction of a three-story building with 168,000 square feet to more efficiently provide Butler’s outpatient services. The Health Care Center will be silver LEED certified and include over 1,300 parking spaces. Construction will begin in fall 2012 and is expected to be completed in spring 2014.
“The new Health Care Center will have an efficient design that is Veteran-centric,” said Gennaro. “Veterans will be easily able to navigate the Health Care Center and all services will be provided on two floors.”
The new facility will include primary care, specialty care, mental health, dental, diagnostic, laboratory, pathology, radiology, podiatry, optometry, pharmacy, physical rehabilitation and women’s health. The Health Care Center will be fully equipped to continue as well as expand the technology used by VA to provide care. This includes telemedicine equipment for telehealth, clinical video telehealth, teledermatology, tele-retinal exams, and tele-audiology.
During the construction of the new Health Care Center Veterans will continue to receive services without interruption at the current facility. The existing campus will remain in use by the VA once the HCC is complete. VA Butler is making significant progress toward the completion of new construction projects to replace the 60-bed Community Living Center and the 56-bed Domiciliary on the main VA campus.
“The completion of these two projects in addition to the new Health Care Center will allow VA to continue providing excellent care to our nation’s Veterans in all new facilities,” said Gennaro.
The Butler Health Care Center received Congressional approval and was authorized as Public Law 111-82 on November 24, 2009 as a major lease. VA Butler Healthcare was selected for a Health Care Center primarily because of its mission as a large outpatient clinic.
Over 30,000 Veterans in Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Lawrence, and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania were cared for by VA Butler Healthcare with over 150,000 outpatient visits the past year.
For more information about the HCC, view the national news release at www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2329 or the HCC Fact Sheet, or contact 724-996-8784.
