VA won’t confirm site for hospital

Suzanne Struglinski

Friday, Sept. 24, 2004 | 11:39 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A trio of new medical facilities for veterans is planned between Pecos Road and Lamb Boulevard just south of the Las Vegas Beltway, officials have told the Sun.

Nevada's congressional delegation expects Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi to outline the details of the project at a 10 a.m. Monday press conference at a department clinic at 2410 Fire Mesa St., near Smoke Ranch Road and Buffalo Drive.

The VA press office this morning would not confirm the announcement.

VA spokesman Phil Budahn said all details are "hypothetical at this point" and nothing would be final until Principi makes a decision.

VA spokesman Danny Devine said there would be no comment on the site selection until the formal announcement is made. Neither would confirm the North Las Vegas site as the final selection.

But several officials with knowledge of the plans confirmed the site.

Jack Finn, spokesman for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., referred all questions to the VA but said there would be an announcement on Monday that the senator would be "very proud" Principi is making.

The site belongs to the Bureau of Land Management and would have to be transferred to the Veterans Affairs Department before the facilities could be built.

Principi has made funding the new hospital, nursing home and outpatient clinic a funding priority through 2010. Congress has already allocated $25 million for the estimated $250 million price tag of the new medical center.

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., has plans to introduce a bill Monday to transfer the land, but sources say it could also be done through administrative action.

Porter spokesman Adam Mayberry said the site is "all but official."

"It's an area right now with an abundance of land but there will be development there in years to come," Mayberry said.