Senators John Ensign and Harry Reid announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the final construction contract to complete the long-awaited veterans’ hospital for southern Nevada.  The VA informed Ensign and Reid today that this is one of the last steps to making the hospital fully operational.

“This is an important step forward that keeps us on track to have the VA hospital open and accepting patients in 2011,” said Ensign, whose efforts on the VA Committee secured this hospital for southern Nevada.  “Our veterans deserve the best care and they deserve access to the best care.  This hospital will deliver both to thousands of veterans.”

“It’s been a long road to bring this new and improved VA hospital to Nevada, and I am pleased we’re making progress on building a facility that gives our veterans the best possible medical care. We must keep America’s promises to our veterans by ensuring they receive all the benefits they have earned,” said Senator Reid. 

The contract was awarded to the joint venture construction firm of Clark/Hunt of Las Vegas in the amount of $364,942,000.  During a visit to the site in August, VA Secretary James Peake said that this would be the “crown jewel” of the VA infrastructure. 

The 700,000 square foot facility in North Las Vegas will include a 90-bed hospital and 120-bed long-term care center.  Ensign and Reid sponsored legislation that transferred land between the 215, Pecos, Centennial Parkway and Lamb Boulevard at no cost from the Bureau of Land Management to the VA for the medical campus.