Louisville Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Officials will hold two public meetings tomorrow to provide information and take public input on where to build a new Veterans Affairs hospital in Louisville.

Facility Planner Bob Morey says the meetings will be held from 1:00-3:00pm and 6:00-8:00pm at the Clifton Center on Payne Street.

“We’re going to have a third-party moderator that actually runs the meeting. I will be providing the slide presentation and we will have a panel of subject matter experts to answer questions,” he said.

Five years ago, then Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson announced that a new VA hospital would be built in Louisville. Many expected then that it would be located near University Hospital, but officials are now considering four other sites, including land adjacent to the present hospital on Zorn Avenue.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a military spending measure that
includes $45 million to begin work on a new Veterans Affairs Health Center in Louisville.

The money is intended for design and site acquisition for a new facility, which has
an estimated total price tag of $700 million.

The funds were requested by 3rd District Congressman John Yarmuth of Louisville,
who says the appropriation could be increased, depending on what happens in
the Senate.

“Senator (Mitch) Mcconnell has gotten an additional $30 million in the committee version of the bill in the Senate side, so if the Senate approves that, the two houses will have to reconcile the difference. It will either be 45, 75 (million) or something in between,” Yarmuth said.

The new health center would replace the 56 year old VA Medical Center off Zorn Avenue.