Trump plans to fund new Veterans Affairs medical center in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – President Donald Trump’s proposed finances for fiscal 12 months 2027 contains $30 million for land acquisition for the positioning of a new veteran medical center in San Antonio. If accepted, a new center would exchange the present Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital.

The potential acquisition is described as “a necessary first step to address the growing veteran population in that area (San Antonio)” in the proposed finances.

It’s an initiative that San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has been in favor of for a while.

“Unfortunately, the number of veterans that have died by suicide, a large chunk of those folks were not receiving the benefits they earned when they did that,” Jones mentioned. “As easy as we can make it for my fellow veterans to get the care that they need, all the better.”

Jones beforehand despatched a letter to US Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins on March 10 expressing the help and wish for a new VA medical center in San Antonio.

“This investment is essential to ensuring that veterans across our community have access to modern, high-quality inpatient and outpatient services, including enhanced specialty care, mental health services and other critical clinical programs delivered throughout the region,” Jones wrote in the letter.

Jones additionally outlined a number of elements she believes reveal the necessity for a new medical facility to exchange the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital:

• In the area, 64% of veteran healthcare enrollees are underneath 64 years outdated, which is larger than the nationwide common.

• The South Texas Veterans Healthcare System has solely 27 beds regardless of being the second-busiest emergency division inside the Veterans Health Administration.

• The variety of feminine veterans receiving well being care in South Texas is predicted to enhance considerably.

“We only have one VA hospital, right, for the entire community,” Jones mentioned. “So that VA hospital has to be top-notch, and I’m glad that we’re taking this first step.”

The Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital formally opened and accepted its first affected person again in 1973. Jones mentioned the new facility can be wanted to meet “21st century clinical standards.”

“When we look at how many emergency beds they have, for example, it’s a small fraction of what we actually need, especially when you look at the number of new VA facilities that have been built in other communities throughout Texas,” Jones advised KSAT.

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