Congressman Colin Allred, D-TX-32, celebrated the Dallas VA breaking ground on its long term care spinal cord injury center authorized by bipartisan legislation Allred led with Congressman Jake Ellzey, R-TX-06. This project will construct a 30-bed long term care spinal cord injury center, with the capacity to expand to 60 beds, which was hailed by a wounded Texas veteran as a “godsend” for himself and fellow veterans who suffered spinal cord injuries.

“Ensuring our veterans have access to the best quality care we can provide them will always be a priority of mine in Congress,” Allred said. “I was proud to work with my friend Congressman Ellzey to get the Dallas VA this funding to establish a long-term spinal cord injury center to better serve our veterans and am so glad to see them break ground on this project. I will always work with anyone to make sure we give our veterans the support, services and care they need when they return home.”

Allred and Ellzey’s bipartisan bill, the Fiscal Year 2022 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act, authorized several Veterans Affairs construction projects that were funded in fiscal year 2022, including a new VA medical center in El Paso. In addition to providing long-term care for the medical complications of spinal cord injuries/disorders, the center will provide a residential setting in which highly dependent or medically complex veterans could live on a long-term basis, receiving the specialized environment, staff skills and equipment that they require.

This builds on the bipartisan efforts Allred led to establish the Garland VA Medical Center by getting a shuttered Baylor, Scott & White Hospital donated to the North Texas VA. The Garland VA has been open for over three years helping to better serve our veterans and creating jobs in the region.