VA Breaks Ground for New Orleans Medical Center

NEW ORLEANS - State and local officials joined in for a ground-breaking ceremony for a new 1.5 million-square-foot medical center for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA's new full-service medical center campus in New Orleans is at a site bounded by Canal Street, S. Galvez Street, Tulane Avenue and S. Rocheblave Street. When opened in 2013, the facility will have 120 inpatient beds in addition to 60 transitional care beds that provide rehabilitation, hospice and palliative care and mental illness research. The hospital will accommodate a half-million outpatient visits annually. The new medical center will also be ideally suited to serve Veterans and the citizens of southern Louisiana in the case of an emergency. Once construction is complete, the new medical center will be able to operate independently for seven days without resupply. All mission-critical services will be 20 feet above ground level, and the facility will have a heliport and boat dock for evacuations. As part of VA's preservation efforts, the Pan-American Life Insurance Company Building will be rehabilitated and integrated into the design of the new medical center. VA will also conduct a structural appraisal of the Dixie Brewery. VA is working with the city and state to ensure all other historically significant buildings are either preserved and moved from the site or that architecturally significant pieces will be salvaged before any necessary demolition.