Nevada delegation, VA secretary dedicate VA Medical Center in North Las Vegas

With 50 U.S. flags flying along the road leading to the front doors, the long-awaited, billion-dollar VA Medical Center was dedicated Monday in North Las Vegas with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki and three members of Nevada's congressional delegation on hand.

"This is about promise making and promise keeping, and in this country, that counts for a lot," Shinseki told a crowd of 800 that gathered in two hallways of the six-story, 1 million-square-foot medical center, the hub of a 151-acre campus.

The first patients will be accepted for limited services on Aug. 14, when the doors open for eye care, pharmacy and infectious disease services. Then other services, such as surgery, specialty care, mental health, rehabilitation, extended care and geriatrics, will open gradually with full operations by the end of December.

Since the ground breaking ceremony on Oct. 20, 2006, more than $600 million has been spent on construction with roughly $400 million more being spent on equipment, staffing and operations at satellite clinics that recently opened.

Shinseki, a West Point graduate and two-time Purple Heart Medal recipient who served two combat tours in Vietnam, lauded the medical center not only for its cutting-edge technology that will help heal the physical wounds of war, but also for the staff of 1,800 who will make it work and help heal war's invisible, mental wounds.

"Let me tell you that this medical center doesn't operate itself," Shinseki said. "It doesn't turn on its lights. It doesn't perform X-rays and CT scans. It doesn't perform lifesaving surgery. It does not comfort or grieve.

"For that you turn to the equally dedicated men and women who consider the privilege of serving America's heroes their distinct honor. They are the heartbeats of the grand, new hospital. They are the ones capable of providing comfort, care, hope and encouragement."

He echoed President Barack Obama's recent speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars: "We keep our promises."

Shinseki reminded the audience of mostly veterans, their families, service organization representatives and VA staff that in many cases decades have passed since the wars they fought.

"Many of those veterans are in need of health care. They will find it here in North Las Vegas," he said, referring to veterans of World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean conflict. "This is dedicated to one single purpose: providing the highest-quality and safest health care possible.

"To the men and women who have safeguarded our nation and our way of life, this is one more installment in the debt of gratitude we owe each and every veteran."

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who led Nevada's delegation in securing funding for the hospital, reflected on the effort with Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who joined him at the ceremony.

"One thing hasn't been said. This facility is the finest VA facility in the entire world," Reid said.

Later, Reid, whose father committed suicide, told reporters "this facility will save lives" through suicide prevention though those statistics "won't show up in the books."

Heller, who is running against Berkley for Nevada's other Senate seat, said, "When this delegation works together to make good things happen ... great things happen."

"This is an historic day for the state of Nevada and the United States," Heller said.

He spoke about "the veterans who made sacrifices to defend our freedom and spread liberty and freedom throughout the world," saying, "today with the dedication of this hospital the United States is saying, 'thank you.'"

"It's a small token compared to the great sacrifice you made. ... Most importantly, our veterans in need will no longer be forced to add out-of-state travel to their list of hardships. They will get the care they need right here at home where it should be done."

Berkley said she "always knew this day would come. It seemed to have taken a lot longer than any of us anticipated."

She said Congress and the American people have an obligation to veterans that must be fulfilled.

"When our fighting men and women come home, it's a debt we must repay, and this remarkable facility is certainly a down payment on a debt we owe all of our veterans," Berkley said.

The delegates thanked the area's veterans for their patience is waiting for the facility at 6900 N. Pecos Road to open after its predecessor, the Guy Ambulatory Care Center on Martin Luther King Boulevard, was shut down for construction defects, launching the effort in 2003 to find a site and build the new medical center. It is the first such facility built by the VA in 17 years.

For about a decade, 2,000 veterans per year had to travel to VA facilities in Southern California for certain care and procedures.

The VA, citing the 2010 census, sets Nevada's veterans population at more than 234,000 with most of those - 164,225 - living within the Southern Nevada service area, including Nye and Lincoln counties.

The state Office of Veterans Services estimates Nevada's veterans population totals at least 300,000 because not all have sought benefits from the VA system.

The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System serves about 46,000 veterans, according to Director John Bright.

When the hospital - with 90 in-patient beds and the 120-bed community living center, or "skilled nursing home care facility" - is fully operational, Bright anticipates his staff will serve about 60,000 veterans .

"This day, this event, this complex is about fulfilling America's promise," he said.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.