The Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital is a

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

(VA) hospital located in Columbia,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. Located adjacent to the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

campus, the hospital has a coverage area of 43 counties in Missouri and Illinois and serves more than 38,000 veterans inpatient and 314,000 veterans outpatient. Affiliated with the

University of Missouri School of Medicine The University of Missouri School of Medicine (also called University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine or MU School of Medicine) is located in the southern part of the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, Missouri. It was the first p ...

, it provides

primary care Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care ...

surgical Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

geriatric Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros ...

, transitional, rehabilitative, and hospice services. The medical center has achieved some of the best scores in the state of Missouri for JCAHO Quality Reporting.

History

The hospital was constructed from 1966 to 1972 at a cost of $15 million. In 1975, by an act of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, it was legally labeled and titled the ''Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital'', named after former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. Truman VA is the only hospital in the Heartland Network — including Missouri and Kansas as well as parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas — that has a referral center for open heart surgery. At least 250 heart surgeries per year are performed at the hospital. In 1995, a new ambulatory care building was built, adding onto the north side of the hospital. The two-story ambulatory care center was dedicated on March 20, 1998, and cost $15.1 million. In August 2009, ground was broken on a , $25 million expansion to add a suite of operating rooms and renovate existing floor space. The new building houses five operating room suites, two dedicated to open heart surgery, two general purpose, and one dedicated to special procedures. The old operating rooms were also be gutted to house a new post-anesthesia care unit and pre-operation room. The first phase of the project was completed in November 2010, with the entire project completed in mid-2012. The Truman VA was awarded $8 million in stimulus package funds to replace or renovate existing hospital components, which was completed in 2011.

Additional facilities

The Truman VA maintains eight Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Waynesville, Kirkville,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, St. James,

Osage Beach, Missouri Osage Beach is a city in Camden and Miller counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is in Camden County, while a small eastern sliver is in Miller County. The population was 4,351 at the 2010 census. History Osage Beach was inco ...

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

, Sedalia, and Marshfield, each of which provides access to

and

services.

Research program and affiliations

The Truman VA is affiliated with the

and supports 83 resident doctor positions; it also provides a clinical site for other professions within the health field. In 2009, 52 research projects were active at the VA hospital, and included important areas like diagnostic imaging, cancer therapy, cardiovascular disease,

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...

geriatrics Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros ...

, pulmonary care, and the development of new radiopharmaceuticals. The Truman VA participates in the Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC), which is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the United States. The MARRTC provides research and public awareness regarding arthritis and to improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people with arthritis and arthritic conditions. The Medical Center also contains the Biomolecular Imaging Center (BIC), which offers VA and affiliated MU researchers, state of the art molecular and anatomic ''in vivo'' imaging capabilities.

References

External links

Truman VA Official Site
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1972 Emergency services of Boone County, Missouri Teaching hospitals in Missouri Hospitals in Missouri Buildings and structures in Columbia, Missouri Hospitals in Columbia, Missouri