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VA to add residential home; consolidation on hold

Wicked Local
By Jessica M. Smith
03.12.08

West Roxbury - Military families who travel to the West Roxbury VA for long-term medical care will soon have the option of staying on the hospital's campus.

The West Roxbury facility was recently chosen to be the site of a Fisher House; according to Diane Keefe of the Veterans Administration, a Fisher House is similar to a Ronald McDonald House, but for military families.

"For patients in our spinal cord injury and trauma units, the best thing is they can have their families and their children with them," said Keefe.

The residence, to be built by the Fisher Foundation, is designed to enable family members to be close to a loved one during hospitalization. Keefe made the announcement earlier this week to members of the Spring Valley/Charles River Neighborhood Association.

Although the project is in the planning stages, Keefe said the VA plans to build the home on the VFW Parkway side of the campus that sits between the Parkway and Spring Street on the Dedham border. At present, the house will be somewhere near the Roche skating rink.

Construction of the $5 million project is expected to begin this fall, and Keefe said the VA hopes to have families in the house by late 2009. The structure, slated to have 16,000 square feet of living space, will also have 21 suites.

The home will also be "built to be neighborhood-specific." In other words, its architecture will resemble a New England home. According to Keefe, a Fisher house built in Texas was designed as a Texas ranch, and homes built in the south have Southern charm.

The only other upgrades to the VA, said Keefe, are internal.

"There are no construction plans that you would even notice. [Plans] are all internal within our four walls," said Keefe, adding to that the hospital will improve some of its operating rooms.

Keefe also told the association that the potential consolidation of the West Roxbury VA is still on hold.

"I don't have anything to tell you. It's stalled out. Essentially there's no decision made on what they're going to do," said Keefe, of the nationwide project known as CARES.

CARES, which stands for Capital Assessment for Enhanced Services, has looked at 16 VA sites around the country in addition to Boston. As of September, Boston was the only site without a decision. The fate of facilities in West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Bedford and Brockton are at stake.

At the most recent Local Advisory Panel meeting about CARES, a spokesman for then-VA Secretary James Nicholson, announced the possibility of moving the services offered at Jamaica Plain to West Roxbury while largely leaving the Bedford and Brockton facilities alone. The option was created following a series of meetings in which families served by the VA at Bedford's world-class Alzheimer's unit voiced their concerns.

In addition to the new option, there are four other possibilities: Leaving the Boston VAs alone; moving Bedford to Brockton while renovating Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury; moving Bedford to Brockton while moving Jamaica Plain to West Roxbury; and moving Bedford to Brockton while moving West Roxbury to Jamaica Plain. All scenarios would involve extensive renovation and construction lasting up to 10 years.

But for now, the project stands still.

"The last I heard was there would be another public meeting to relook at the options," said Keefe. That meeting has not been scheduled.

The potential consolidations come at a time when the West Roxbury VA is treating more patients than ever. According to Keefe, the facility treated 65.000 patients last year that included "4,000 new patients related to this war we're having."

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