Administration's 2011 budget makes our veterans a top priority

There is some very good news in the Administration's 2011 budget for 170,000 veterans who live in a 104-county area of Nebraska, western Iowa and parts of Kansas and Missouri. The aging VA Medical Center in Omaha that serves them is finally in line for much-needed makeover that I and many others in Omaha, and the VA system, have worked toward for years.

The Administration's budget calls for $56 million for planning and design of a fully modernized, 21st Century health care facility. This is puts the Omaha VA hospital built in the 1950s firmly on the road to a major overhaul, and I'm pleased to see the President make this his priority because it is clearly based on need.

We Must Stand By America's Veterans

Few people would argue that our veterans don't deserve top-flight medical care. Our military members keep America strong and protect our freedoms every day. We must ensure that those who have served in the military and protected us are protected as veterans. While the health professionals who work at the Omaha VA provide outstanding care to our veterans, unfortunately the facility they work in is getting worse by the year.

Efforts have been underway for years in Omaha and in Washington to tackle the hospital's current shortcomings and future requirements. In my case, I remember well a woman standing up at a Nebraska Breakfast in Washington in 2007 and telling the Nebraska congressional delegation that the Omaha VA facility was deteriorating and that our veterans deserved better. We knew she was right.

Since then, I have worked with VA secretaries in two administrations, the Omaha community and others to try to address the Omaha VA's needs, which are indeed serious.

VA Study Identified Serious Challenges at Omaha VA

Last summer, the VA completed a study about the Omaha VA's conditions that drew attention to its deficiencies. The VA study found: Significant space deficiencies: 42 out of 52 departments will require additional space in the next seven years; surgical capacity based on 1948 design; its present space does not meet federal room size/privacy requirements; a crumbling building envelope including windows, roof, and walls; air handling and HVAC system beyond its useful life; and an overall refrigeration system rated F.

Its underground telephone and data systems are nearing capacity and many telecommunications rooms contain wet piping, conditions ripe for breakdown. Significant deficiencies were found in areas of cardiology, radiology, audiology and day treatments, according to the VA study.

Conditions Jeopardize Care Now

Visiting with officials at the Omaha VA, I learned that the hospital's heating and cooling system is tied together in one system. So, air moves throughout the facility with no barriers. That caused major concern with the recent outbreak of the H1N1 flu nationwide because of the potential for it to spread throughout the hospital, which fortunately did not happen.

Where the study talked about a crumbling building, VA officials describe mold growing in the walls. Some workers say it makes them feel ill. One time when power went out in a VA emergency room the hospital reached out for backup help from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The VA hospital's space shortcomings affect its ability to provide the needed medical, surgical, nursing and mental health care of veterans it serves today, not to mention the services needed tomorrow.

Standing up for Veterans

It is my job to work for my constituents and I have welcomed the opportunity to work with the Omaha VA's community of supporters, and with two administrations, to make sure we do right by our veterans. I'll continue pushing ahead until the entire construction project is funded so they receive the care that honors their commitment, in a 21st Century VA medical center.