Upbeat report on Southern Nevada veterans hospital

U.S. House lawmakers reviewing the construction of major veterans hospitals got a positive report on Tuesday from the company that built the new VA medical center in North Las Vegas.

The VA will begin treating patients at the hospital along Interstate 215 and Pecos Road by mid-summer, they were told, following a building process that experienced few hiccups.

The president of Clark Construction Group, whose joint venture with Hunt Construction Group was awarded the main building contract in 2008, told members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee that relations with the VA went smoothly.

"Our relationship and the open communications between Clark/Hunt and the VA proved critical in making this project a success," John P. O'Keefe said.

O'Keefe's remarks about the Southern Nevada project contrasted with those of construction company executives who are trying to build a new VA hospital in Orlando, Fla.

To the dismay of Florida lawmakers, that project has been plagued by cost overruns and complications that will delay an opening by eight months or more.

The Clark and Hunt teams were awarded the Nevada contract in September 2008. O'Keefe said the original completion date was pushed back four months to Dec. 12, 2011, but the revised schedule was met.

The VA now is installing equipment and starting to train staff and conduct building maintenance, O'Keefe said. He added a late design change to the mental health ward is scheduled to be completed next month but will not affect the hospital's opening.

The 790,000-square-foot hospital will include 90 beds for inpatient and mental health care , diagnostic and treatment clinics and administration facilities. The campus also will contain a 120-bed nursing home and extended care unit.

The Nevada project was not always on a glide path. Its initial $286 million cost estimate more than doubled to $600 million between 2005 and 2006.

A 2009 Government Accountability Office report concluded the VA did not fully account for the range of medical services the North Las Vegas facility would need to provide. The initial estimate also did not include funding for roads and street lights among other infrastructure at the desert plot.

Also the construction schedule coincided with the mid-decade building boom in Southern Nevada, making labor and materials more expensive.

On Tuesday, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, mentioned the 110 percent cost increase as an example of where the VA needs to improve its planning.