Closing of the Brecksville VA Campus Means Changes for Veterans

The move from the of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center to the Wade Park campus will mean a loss of green space for patients but more privacy and continuity of care, said Medical Center Director Susan Fuehrer.

“This move was the best thing for patients,” Fuehrer said.

On Tuesday, a was held for the Brecksville campus, which is closing after 50 years of service. Fuehrer said they began writing projects to update the campus in the ’90s, but other projects always seemed to take precedence in Washington, so they began to think about consolidating the two campuses.

The updated Wade Park facility will take over much of the services at Brecksville. A few programs, like outpatient care, will remain in Brecksville until a new facility is finished in Parma in 2012. Mayor Jerry N. Hruby said during Tuesday’s ceremony that the site will be renovated, but that a memorial will be placed on the grounds so that no one forgets the center.

Fuehrer said Wade Park features a large parking garage, an office tower and new bed tower. The new private and semi-private bedrooms include bathrooms for the patients. The Brecksville campus had more people to each room, and bathrooms were down the hall.

The “veterans love their own space,” Fuehrer added.

The facility at Wade Park is filled with natural light and a calming color scheme filled with blues, tans and greens. Ashley Trimble, a public affairs specialist for the center, said interior designers in the engineering department were each assigned a floor to design. They picked the colors and designed for a healing environment.

Fuehrer said there’s better climate control at the new building, too—Brecksville had to use more than 300 window air conditioning units to try to keep the buildings cool—and they will save money on travel since all the services will be available at one site.

One downside is the lack of green space that had been available on the large Brecksville campus, but Fuehrer said the center is working to create partnerships with local organizations, like the museums in Cleveland.

Editor's note: This article is the first in an occasional series that will look at how the closing of the Brecksville campus of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center will affect the patients, the staff and the city.