LAKE NONA, Fla. – It was standing room only Tuesday morning in Lake Nona, where veterans, their families and elected officials gathered for a dedication ceremony of the new VA center.
A long list of dignitaries, including congressmen and congresswomen and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, gave remarks about the progress made with the state of the art medical center and the revolutionary care it will provide to veterans. Following the ceremony and ribbon cutting, the public was allowed into the center for the first time.
"This is awesome. This is the most beautiful thing I ever seen in the hospitals," said William Lourido, a veteran of the U.S. Army.
Lourido served for 31 years and was part of a group of people who saw the proposal of the new VA medical center through.
"It's been a long time (25 years) and we thought for a minute that we would not have it. But we kept fighting, we kept going to Congress and going to Washington," Lourido said.
Lourido and hundreds of other vets were instrumental in lobbying elected officials to complete construction of the center.
"They all came together. They all signed a letter that said we are not going to stop this project, we are going to go forward and we are not a Denver, we are Orlando and we finish the project. And we're dedicating it today. Thank you!," said U.S. Rep. John Mica while addressing the crowd and thanking the elected officials who supported the center.
Although the dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting have been done, the center is still not fully operational, and it's opening is years behind schedule.
"This project, federal project, is unfortunately behind schedule and over budget but we are happy that today is here," Mica said.
Some services are up and running, but the entire center won't be ready for veterans until the end of the year, three years late.
The center will employ 3,500, and will provide care to more than 115,000 veterans yearly.