SAN ANTONIO – President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 includes $30 million for land acquisition for the site of a new veteran medical center in San Antonio. If approved, a new center would replace the current Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital.
The potential acquisition is described as “a necessary first step to address the growing veteran population in that area (San Antonio)” in the proposed budget.
It’s an initiative that San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has been in favor of for some time.
“Unfortunately, the number of veterans that have died by suicide, a big chunk of those folks were not receiving the benefits they earned when they did that,” Jones said. “As easy as we can make it for my fellow veterans to get the care that they need, all the better.”
Jones previously sent a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins on March 10 expressing the support and need for a new VA medical center in San Antonio.
“This investment is essential to ensuring that veterans across our community have access to modern, high-quality inpatient and outpatient services, including enhanced specialty care, mental health services and other critical clinical programs delivered throughout the region,” Jones wrote in the letter.
Jones also outlined multiple factors she believes demonstrate the need for a new medical facility to replace the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital:
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In the region, 64% of veteran healthcare enrollees are under 64 years old, which is higher than the national average.
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The South Texas Veterans Healthcare System has only 27 beds despite being the second-busiest emergency department within the Veterans Health Administration.
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The number of female veterans receiving health care in South Texas is expected to increase significantly.
“We only have one VA hospital, right, for the entire community,” Jones said. “So that VA hospital has to be top-notch, and I’m glad that we’re taking this first step.”
The Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital officially opened and accepted its first patient back in 1973. Jones said the new facility would be needed to meet “21st century clinical standards.”
“When we look at how many emergency beds they have, for example, it’s a small fraction of what we actually need, especially when you look at the number of new VA facilities that have been built in other communities throughout Texas,” Jones told KSAT.
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