VA awards design of Togus mental health treatment center to Wyoming firm
The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the first contract for construction of a mental health care facility at Togus VA Medical Center to a Wyoming-based firm.
The firm, Triple C-The A&E Group LLC, will design the 24-bed building for a new substance abuse residential rehabilitation treatment program, according to a news release. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The VA announced plans for the facility last year. But the project at risk of delay in April, when new design guidance put threatened to slow down construction. Maine's congressional delegation urged the VA to stick to an aggressive timeline and to expedite work on the new facility.
“Maine veterans who need long-term mental health and substance use care shouldn’t have to travel out of our state and far from their families to get treatment,” read a statement from U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine.
“That’s why we worked hard to push for this new VA facility at Togus. The design award we’re announcing today brings us a big step closer to providing this crucial care to veterans right here where they need it. We’re pleased to see the VA making progress and being responsive to our appeals for urgency."
Maine veterans in need of long-term mental health and substance use treatment currently have to travel out of state for care and on average wait upwards of 132 days to get into treatment programs, the delegation said. The new facility, the first of its kind in the state, would treat over 300 of these veterans per year, keeping them close to their family and friends and cutting down waits to access treatment.
More than one in 10 American veterans are diagnosed with substance use disorder and one in five veterans is estimated to have a mental health condition. Maine has among the highest percentage of veterans of any state.
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They couldn’t find a Maine firm to do this project?
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