Veterans Development Corporation (VDC) was selected to perform renovations on the Building 12 Women’s Health Clinic at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital located in Bedford, MA. In 1978, VA renamed the Bedford VA Hospital for Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers. During World War I, Mrs. Rogers served with the American Red Cross in France. Her experience with active-duty military personnel created a lifelong advocate for Veterans’ rights. Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover appointed her inspector of Veterans hospitals. Rogers entered Congress in 1925 when she won the Massachusetts 5th District seat vacated by her husband at his death in March of that year. She held the seat until her death in September 1960. She was the first woman to serve in Congress from a New England state. Congresswoman Rogers sponsored more than 600 bills related to Veterans and military issues during her career. Among her most famous initiatives were the 1944 “G.I. Bill” and the creation of the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES).
As one of the oldest VA hospitals in the U.S., this historical Building 12 Women’s Clinic needed several facility upgrades to continue providing services to our female veterans and their families. This required a complete gut renovation of the clinic whereby the VA maintained temporary clinic facilities to provide services during the renovation period. On this project VDC self-performed the mechanical scope, the plumbing scope, and served as the Prime General Contractor for all project scope. Included in the GC scope was site work, concrete, masonry, mechanical, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire alarm and protection, fiber optics, communications and security systems, asbestos abatement, structural steel, ceilings, walls, finishes, and other general contracting services that were implemented in this project. The building had moderate renovations since 1928 and had outlived any upgrades. To make a lasting impact on the building’s infrastructure and interior design, the Women’s Clinic was completely demolished to the exterior walls and rebuilt back out. In addition to the infrastructural upgrades at the clinic, the clinic received an entire remodel, with dozens of new patient exam rooms, new waiting areas, new administrative spaces with conference rooms and offices, a new break area, and storage and supply rooms.
Old stair towers were demolished and newly constructed on either side of the existing building. This work required extensive site work and ledge removal to install the new foundation to handle the steel and frame for the towers. New site parking and handicap access was constructed in the rear of the building to accommodate the new elevator that was constructed. The finish exterior provides a clean landscape with new sidewalks for the Veterans’ benefit.