The Medical Campus could have a significant new addition. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is considering replacing the current Buffalo VA Medical Center on Bailey Avenue across from the University of Buffalo south campus with a new facility downtown. But don’t expect work to start soon, the proposal is in its very early stages and construction could be ten years away.
The Buffalo News has the scoop:
VA officials outlined their preliminary proposal for a new hospital at or near the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in internal documents obtained by The Buffalo News. They stressed that construction of a new hospital is likely years away, but that it’s necessary due to the outdated design and structural deficiencies at the Bailey Avenue facility.
“The aging Buffalo VAMC will be replaced with a rightsized facility proximate to Buffalo’s health care corridor in order to increase synergies with neighboring providers and resources,” according to a working draft of the VA’s recommendations to a commission that is planning the future of the mammoth veterans health care system.
The VA documents also call for construction of a new VA hospital in Batavia, although the one in Buffalo would be far bigger.
The current 1.1 million sq.ft. facility, built in 1949, is said to require over $260 million in repairs. The deficiencies noted included undersized operating rooms, narrow corridors, and lack of central air conditioning. A new hospital, not yet designed, is likely to cost $1 billion or more. Potential Medical Campus sites have not been identified and plans for the Bailey Avenue facility if it is shuttered are undetermined.
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