Salem VA Health Care System upgrades health care infrastructure

SALEM, VA – The Salem VA Health Care System today announced it has begun infrastructure upgrades to ensure safe and effective patient care.

 

These projects are part of a record $4.8 billion in nationwide VA spending to modernize, repair and improve department health care facilities in fiscal year 2026 via the Veterans Health Administration’s Non-Recurring Maintenance program.

 

Salem VA Health Care System improvement projects for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 are:

 

• Renovating tile floors in 20 private patient restrooms in a Medical-Surgical Unit of the Salem VA Medical Center. This area of private patient rooms provides care for Veterans recovering from surgery or receiving care for illnesses.

 

• Upgrading the Salem VA Medical Center’s imaging space (architectural, electrical, and mechanical) to allow for installation of a new Nuclear Medicine camera. This camera will improve Veteran care and comfort by providing cutting-edge accuracy (for precise diagnosis), a reduction in required radiation dosage, and shorter total scan times.

 

• Installing new and upgraded gas and groundwater monitoring wells at the Salem VA Medical Center Campus (landfill) to ensure environmental safety compliance with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality standards.

 

“Improved facilities, equipment and infrastructure mean better care for Veterans, and these funds will enable the Salem VA Health Care System to achieve that goal,” said Salem VA Health Care System Interim Director, Ms. Tammy Snyder. “Better care for Veterans is our goal, and these projects will enable us to achieve just that.”

 

These infrastructure investments are part of a host of important initiatives to improve VA during the second Trump Administration. Since Jan. 20, 2025, VA has:

• Reduced the backlog of Veterans waiting for VA benefits by 60%.
• Eliminated the backlog of Veteran families waiting for VA health care.
• Processed record numbers of disability claims, reaching an all-time fiscal-year high of three million claims processed Sept. 30.
• Opened 25 new health care clinics, expanding access for Vets around the country.
• Offered Veterans more than 1.9 million appointments outside of normal operating hours. These early-morning, evening, and weekend appointments are giving Veterans more timely and convenient options for care.

 

For more information, contact the Salem VA Health Care System Public Affairs Office at VHASAMPublicAffairs@VA.gov or 540-982-2463 extension 1400.