VA hospital getting $8.4 million

By Cheryl Truman - ctruman@herald-leader.com

The Lexington Veterans Administration Medical Center on Cooper Drive is getting nearly $8.4 million in federal funding for renovations, Congressman Ben Chandler's office announced Friday.

The money will target two projects — $5.9 million to renovate the third floor, and $2.5 million for improvements to the emergency room.

Sandy Nielsen, the director of the center, said the third-floor project will provide more single-bed rooms, rather than the current four-bed room and two-bed room configurations.

"The standard of care these days is for single-bed rooms," Nielsen said. "And that's important, because there are a lot of bugs around these days."

The plan for the emergency room, she said, is to "update the whole flow of the facility, for more efficient operation. We will have more beds. We will have an advanced diagnostic unit. ... It gives us more efficient and modern capabilities as well as more space to do the work in."

The Cooper Drive VA facility has 99 beds. The VA facility on Leestown Road houses about 60 nursing home beds and 30 residential rehabilitation beds geared toward patients with substance abuse problems and PTSD.

The federal money was allocated as part of the 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations legislation.

"Our brave men and women in uniform served their country — now our country needs to serve them," Chandler said in a news release. "This money from the recovery package will help our veterans, while creating more jobs right here in Central Kentucky. It is a win-win."

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