New VA–UMass Medical School partnership elevates health care for veterans in Central Massachusetts

Old Glory adorns the white steel beam raised to the top of the medical building under construction on campus to mark the new high ground for veterans health care in Central Massachusetts.

Slated to open in the fall of 2021, the new community-based outpatient clinic is a collaboration between the VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System and UMass Medical School to provide veterans in the region with a clinical facility that rises to the level of their service to the country.

“This partnership is all about ensuring those who have served our nation have access to high-quality and comprehensive medical care, close to home,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins.

The clinic will occupy the first two floors of the new, four-story medical office building, with 65 exam, consultation and procedure rooms designed for patient-aligned care teams. Most of the clinic is devoted to primary and mental health care, with some specialty care, including radiology and echocardiology, and physical and occupational therapy. The clinic will also have a clinical lab and a pharmacy.

It will also be a new teaching site for several UMMS primary care and behavioral health programs, including the newly established primary care internal medicine track, the third-year psychiatry clerkship and the graduate medical education residency training program in psychiatry. Students from the Graduate School of Nursing will also learn at the clinic, including those in the psychiatric nurse practitioner track.

Despite the COVID-19 state of emergency, the VA building was allowed to continue because it is considered an essential medical facility.

The clinic will occupy the first two floors of the four-story building, with 65 exam, consultation and procedure rooms.

“The emphasis on primary care and behavioral health matches the greatest health care needs of veterans and aligns well with our strong teaching programs in those areas,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the School of Medicine.

The building is being designed by the Smith Group, and will feature a two-story lobby and a four-story open stairway that will be visible through a wall of glass.

“The building’s design pays homage to those who have sacrificed and honored our country,” said Greg Heppner, AIA, principal in charge at Smith Group. “A large, lighted American flag graphic within the four-story stair that faces the main campus will highlight an important symbol for veterans, and also signal to the UMass Medical School community the partnership created to provide care for those who have served.”

Suffolk Construction is the general contractor for the building, which is being built on the site of the former Massachusetts Department of Transportation District 3 Headquarters on the Belmont Street side of the Medical School campus. Construction began in early 2020, just weeks before Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic and closed nonessential businesses and most construction projects in the state. The building project was allowed to continue, however, because it is considered an essential medical facility.

With nearly all of Suffolk’s other projects shut down, the VA project became an important opportunity for the company to develop safety procedures and adapt its work processes to the pandemic environment. “We now have very specific COVID-19 safety protocols in place for every project, and our company-wide program for working in this environment came largely from what we developed and implemented for the UMass Medical School project,” said Jeff Gouveia, president and general manager of the northeast region at Suffolk.

Suffolk installed a special trailer at the Belmont Street construction site gate. Anyone coming on the site must first pass through the trailer for a COVID-19 screening, which includes having their temperature taken by a thermal camera. All on the site must wear appropriate personal protective equipment. The company has also developed a series of instructional videos and provides counseling resources to help its employees deal with both the physical impact on their work and the emotional toll the pandemic can take.

“This is not just another project for us,” Gouveia said. “We have a lot of veterans in our company, and for me personally, my dad was highly decorated for his service in Vietnam. He spends a lot of time at the VA these days, and they take great care of him, so it’s important for me that we deliver a great facility for the VA to take care of all our veterans.”

The building has been designed to meet LEED and Green Globes certification for energy efficiency and sustainable operation. The project also includes a five-story addition to the South Road parking garage, with an elevator tower and sky bridge connection to the new building.

The programming for the third and fourth floors of the new building is not yet final.

“As I see the new building rise from the ground, I am filled with tremendous satisfaction, hope and pride,” Chancellor Collins said. “Satisfaction that more of our region’s brave veterans will receive the comprehensive care they need, close to home; hope that our students will meaningfully contribute to the care veterans receive while benefitting from the relationships formed in the VA system; and pride in knowing that our commonwealth’s only public medical school is facilitating such a universally positive impact.” ■