VA clinic’s troubles upset council

Judy Odierna

Thursday, Feb. 6, 2003 | 9:58 a.m.

Dozens of veterans are not happy about plans to relocate Veterans Affairs services from the Addeliar D. Guy III Ambulatory Care Center to 11 temporary locations throughout the Las Vegas Valley, some Las Vegas City Council members said.

After hearing a report on the relocation plan Wednesday from John Hempel, director of the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, several council members said veterans have called them and said they would be inconvenienced by the multiple locations.

"My constituents are very unhappy about the whole situation," said Councilman Lawrence Weekly, in whose ward the Guy clinic sits. "The losers are the many veterans who are going to be shuffled all around. What happens to the big empty building? It's 10 steps backward for an area begging for redevelopment."

Department of Veterans Affairs officials have said that the current building, at 1700 Vegas Drive, has structural problems and that they plan to move VA services to 11 temporary locations while four new community clinics are being built.

"This wasn't an excuse to get out of this area," Hempel said. "We would have been perfectly happy to stay there if we could have resolved our issues."

An attorney for the building's owner, the Moreland Corp., has said the company repaired damages and that the structure is safe and complies with city codes. The attorney, Robert Symons, has also said the company will sue the government if it moves.

Hempel said though there will be inconveniences, the VA will work with the veterans to get them the appropriate services.

"In some cases veterans will benefit from the multiple clinics because they will be closer to where they actually live," he said. "Also, if they get to the plaza site adjacent to the current site, we will transport them to and from the clinics. The leases are for three years. Hopefully there will be a better solution at the end of three years."

Three years is too long, Councilman Michael McDonald said.

"With all due respect, three years is a lifetime," he said. "They have told (Mayor Oscar Goodman) that they are at their wits' end right now."

Council members were surprised to hear how much more money it will cost to run the 11 temporary facilities rather than the one. Hempel said it would cost $6 million annually to operate the temporary VA facilities compared with the $2.1 million now.

That's fiscally irresponsible to taxpayers, Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald said.

"As a taxpayer I feel like we are being cheated financially," she said. "For (that kind of money) you can do a whole lot of fixing."

Boggs McDonald also encouraged a strict real estate contract with the VA, should they try to build a new clinic on the city's 61 acres downtown.

"The time of generosity and goodwill is something we can't afford," she said. "Especially when we are talking about the 61 acres. They should pay the piper."

A VA report released last month recommended that a new clinic be built on the city-owned acreage downtown. The report estimates that the downtown clinic would cost $85.6 million, and other administrative buildings and a parking lot would cost another $11.7 million. The report made a reference to capitalizing on "an offer of donated land from the city of Las Vegas."

The report also proposed increasing the number of beds available for veterans at the Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital at Nellis Air Force Base. The report recommended making 84 beds available for veterans, including 14 beds for psychiatric patients. Currently 52 beds at the federal hospital are available for veterans.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., had lobbied for a full-service veterans hospital at the downtown site. But officials say if the VA constructs the 264,000-square-foot "super clinic" on the 61 acres and expands the O'Callaghan hospital, there likely would not be a need for a hospital in Las Vegas.

Goodman disagrees. He hopes to try to work out all of the issues surrounding veteran services in a meeting on Friday with Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi.

"Personally I feel we need a hospital," Goodman said. "The clinic should be continued to be used until a new one is built."