WASHINGTON — After years of delays, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs plans to open a new hospital in Aurora on Aug. 11 — although Tuesday’s announcement is unlikely to spare the agency from criticism when several of its top officials appear Wednesday before Congress to talk about the troubled project.
The unfinished hospital already is long overdue and $1 billion over budget, and, according to documents obtained last week by The Denver Post, there’s plenty of work left to do before it can treat patients.
Hundreds of tasks remain unfinished — such as replacing weak walls that can’t hold mounted X-ray machines — and it’s unlikely the VA will be able to hire enough workers to fully staff the hospital when it opens, which could cause a reduction in services.
The U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is expected to raise these issues Wednesday at 8 a.m. Mountain time when it meets with several top VA leaders, including Stella Fiotes, one of its top construction officials.
“For tomorrow’s oversight hearing, I will be prepared to ask the tough questions in order to get to the bottom of what remains a plagued hospital construction project,” Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman of Aurora, who sits on the committee, said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Coffman wrote on Twitter that he “just got notification” from the VA about the Aug. 11 opening.
Just got notification from the @DeptVetAffairs that they plan to open the #VAHospital in #Aurora on 8/11/18. Stay tuned for tomorrow's oversight hearing. #CO06
— Rep. Mike Coffman (@RepMikeCoffman) January 16, 2018
Testimony that Fiotes plans to give Wednesday also makes mention of an August opening.
The project’s expected price tag will be $1.7 billion for construction and about $340 million to outfit the facility with furniture and medical equipment.