The VA construction program took more hits recently after the chairman of a congressional Committee on Veterans’ Affairs called an Aurora, Colo., hospital project “a disaster,” and a key VA official resigned abruptly.
The 182-bed Aurora hospital has incurred more than $1 billion in cost overruns. The Army Corps of Engineers has taken over the management of the project. Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, said the breakdown was due to “pure incompetence.” Democrats on that committee last week proposed stripping the VA of any construction authority.
Contractor Kiewit-Turner ceased construction on the Aurora hospital in December after the United States Civilian Board of Contract Appeals determined that the VA breached its contract by failing to provide a design that could be built for $582,840,000.
Rep. Jeff Miller called for the agency to fire the executives responsible for construction of VA hospitals. Amid this controversy, Glenn Haggstrom, principal executive director of the Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction with the VA abruptly resigned his post.
Related Stories
| Aug 8, 2016
Top 80 Healthcare Engineering Firms
AECOM, Jacobs, and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare building sector engineering and E/A firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 8, 2016
Top 100 Healthcare Construction Firms
Turner Construction Co., McCarthy Holdings, and Skanska USA top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare building sector construction and construction management firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 8, 2016
Top 90 Healthcare Architecture Firms
HDR, Stantec, and Perkins+Will top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare building sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
AIA selects seven winners of healthcare building design award
The National Healthcare Design Awards recognizes functional hospital projects that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns. Recipients were selected in three categories this year.
Architects | Jul 22, 2016
5 creative approaches to finish standards
With the right mindset, standards can produce great design for healthcare facilities, as VOA's Candace Small explores.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 20, 2016
Process mapping simplifies healthcare design
Charting procedures and highlighting improvement opportunities can lead to developing effective design strategy simulations. GS&P’s Ray Wong writes that process mapping adds value to a project and bolsters team and stakeholder collaboration.
Sponsored | Building Technology | Jul 11, 2016
3D scanning technology solves University of Iowa Children’s Hospital’s curved wall curveball
Gilbane Building Company utilized advanced 3D scanning technology as part of a virtual design and construction (VDC) solution to ensure quality control throughout the lifespan of the project
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 7, 2016
How to navigate the tedious regulatory approval process in healthcare construction
Compliance processes can be handled efficiently with a little bit of foresight. CBRE's Patrick Duke, Kyle Marden, and David Vollmer evaluate the regulations and permits that may be required and the process for incorporating approvals into projects.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 1, 2016
AIA releases summary of the 2016 Design and Health Research Consortium
Consortium members discussed how architects, designers, and health professionals can best apply design and health research in their communities.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 19, 2016
Rapid growth of retail health clinics presents new choices for consumers, payers, and providers
Service expansions help dealers boost clinics’ profitability.
