Renovated rooms unveiled at Iowa City VA Health Care System

Veterans will move into updated patient rooms next week at the Iowa City VA Health Care System, where one hospital ward has fast-forwarded six decades.

“You're talking about American veterans,” said hospital director Barry Sharp. “They deserve the best.”

Visitors on Monday, March 21, toured the renovated seventh floor east, which progressed from 1950s-style multiple-patient rooms to 15 private rooms with the latest technology.

Each room is individually temperature-controlled and has a private bathroom with a ceiling-mounted lift that safely moves a patient from bed to bathroom, without risk of injury to hospital staff.

Another amenity that helps both patients and staff is an access area that allows workers to remove dirty linens or replenish supplies without entering the room.

“They can do it all from the hallway,” Sharp said. “The patient would never even know.”

The $1.9 million project was funded through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The contract was awarded to C3T Inc., a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business in Milwaukee, Wis.

Construction started in March 2010 and was completed this month.

Sharp said the ward previously accommodated 22 patients, but because more hospital services are now outpatient, the space usually was not fully occupied.

He expected the new rooms to be filled at capacity.

The 13,860-square-foot project was the latest renovation at the Iowa City VA.

Last month, a 20,000-square-foot research center opened, bringing the amount of research space to 60,000-square-feet.

Sharp said within a few years, every floor in the 1950s-era hospital will have been renovated.

More projects are in the works to expand the hospital, including a life skills center where veterans could have access to computers and classes, such as cooking or finances.

Funding has been allotted to design the skills center, but a budget is not yet approved for construction.

Sharp said he also hopes funding will be approved in 2012 for the “crown jewel,” a 400-space parking ramp for the hospital, which would alleviate the current difficulties in finding a spot to park at the site.