Manchester VA Medical Center

VAMC Manchester
Geography
Location	718 Smyth Road funding=Government type=Rehabilitation network=VA New England Healthcare System beds=90 website=www.manchester.va.gov coordinates= state=New Hampshire region=Manchester country=US

The Manchester VA Medical Center is a medical facility for US military veterans located in Manchester, New Hampshire. It is part of the VA New England Healthcare System and operates under the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide healthcare to veterans who are residents of New Hampshire. Built in 1950, it is the only Veteran's Affairs medical facility in the state, but is no longer a full-service hospital.

History

Plans for establishing a veterans medical center in New Hampshire began after World War I, but final approval and funding were not obtained until 1945. The US government acquired land for the center from the estate of Frederick Smyth in 1946. Construction began in 1948, and the hospital officially opened on July 2, 1950. Over the next decade, it treated over 23,000 patients.

In the late 1960s, the center partnered with Harvard Medical School to provide surgical training and offered residencies for graduates of Dartmouth Medical School. In response to the aging veteran population in New Hampshire, a residential nursing home and an ambulatory care wing were added in the late 1970s. The center also established medical research centers, including one for post-traumatic stress disorder. However, in 1999, the center discontinued its inpatient care services and focused on urgent and primary care, as well as ambulatory and outpatient services. Patients requiring full-service hospital care were referred to VA hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts, and White River Junction, Vermont. The center also established in-patient treatment contracts with non-VA hospitals in New Hampshire.

In recent years, the hospital has faced administrative problems similar to those that emerged in the VA healthcare system in 2014. These problems included issues with surgical instruments and building maintenance.