VA Secretary Announces New Walla Walla Facility
February 19, 2008

Mental Health Center to be Built near Current Hospital

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake announced today the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will build a state-of-the-art residential rehabilitation facility focused on mental health at the Walla Walla VA Medical Center.

“This project supports VA’s commitment to provide for the health care needs of Washington’s veterans and recognizes the importance of mental health as an issue for our veterans,” said Peake, who toured the local facility today.

Details about the construction and opening date for the new facility, expected to cost an estimated $6.7 million, are still being developed.

VA’s plans for the facility, called a regional residential recovery unit, include 36 beds and 22,000 square feet of space. Its proposed location is in the southwest corner of the medical center complex, near the current exercise park.

This unit is tentatively scheduled to have beds encompassing various levels of mental health care, including homeless and employment services, substance abuse treatment, psychosocial support and re-entry from incarceration services.

VA expects to spend more than $2 billion this year in Washington for the state’s 700,000 veterans.