VA hospital to get facelift

The Philadelphia VA Medical Center is about to undergo a huge face-lift - and quite a few nips and tucks, too.

About 40 renovation and construction projects totaling $40 million are scheduled to unfold at the West Philadelphia center, on University Avenue near Baltimore Avenue, during the next 18 months, said Dale Warman, a spokesman for the Philadelphia VA.

Chief among the projects is a $6 million remodel of the center's emergency department, which is being funded by the federal stimulus package.

The number of exam bays in the emergency department will double to 20, and a separate area for vets with behavioral-health problems is to be established.

Work on the emergency department, which is expected to begin in a few weeks, should take about 15 months to complete, Warman said.

The upcoming construction work forced VA officials to relocate several clinics to other spaces.

"The women's health clinic is being moved to a much bigger space, which is great," Warman said, noting that the VA is seeing a rise in the number of female veterans it treats, as scores of women return from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Besides the emergency department makeover, other planned projects include: an $8 million, 100-space parking garage, which will be built next to the medical center; the construction of a new dental lab; the installation of a second MRI; and improvements in audiology services offered to veterans with hearing loss.

For more information, visit www.philadelphia.va.gov.