November 9, 2009

Contact: Kristen Bossi

(202) 225-4476

NEW BRITAIN - Today, Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) toured the VA Connecticut Health Care System West Haven Campus to visit with veterans and tour the facility.  In recent months, Murphy has been contacted by several veterans from the Fifth District who are pleased with the care they receive at the hospital, but are concerned about heating, cooling, and structural conditions at the facility.

"Connecticut veterans receive top-notch care at West Haven from dedicated doctors, nurses and personnel.  But there are clearly ways in which the building should be updated to bring the hospital up to the standard that we should expect for those who have served our country with such bravery.  I'm going to be taking what I saw back to Washington to Secretary Shineski and his team so that Connecticut's veterans' voices are heard," said Murphy.

The VA Connecticut Health Care System West Haven Campus has served thousands of veterans as the primary inpatient and specialty care facility in the state for over 50 years.  Despite the exceptional care that veterans receive at West Haven, it has come to Murphy's attention that the building's heating and cooling systems are unacceptably antiquated, and the outdated layout of the building results in overcrowding and a severe lack of exam space, and affords little privacy to patients, who are sometimes boarded eight to a room.  A renovation project to address these issues is in the VA's queue for funding, but it has been assigned a low priority number.

In August, Murphy spearheaded a letter signed by the rest of the Connecticut Congressional delegation to Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Eric K. Shinseki to ask that a construction project at the VA Connecticut Health Care System West Haven Campus be moved up to one of the agency's top five priorities next year. 

In the coming weeks, Murphy will be meeting with the Deputy Secretary of the VA, Scott Gould, to discuss the VA Connecticut Health Care System West Haven Campus.

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