Veterans Administration Says Canandaigua VA Programs Will Stay CANANDAIGUA, NY (WXXI) - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it doesn't plan to take away any services or staff from the V.A. Medical Center in Canandaigua.

What the V.A. announced is that it has taken off the table any option that would call for moving any of the medical services off the historic 150 acre campus in the City of Canandaigua.

Doctor Gerald Cross is in charge of setting clinical policy and programs for the V.A. He said the center will be redeveloped and its services enhanced.

There are 14 buildings on the hospital campus, and not all of them are used anymore. There are four options for the future design of the Canandaigua Medical Center. All of them involve combinations of preserving key buildings and developing new ones.

Some of the existing buildings may be sold or leased, or converted to other public uses such as housing for retired veterans.

An advisory commitee headed by former Congressman Amo Houghton came up with the four options, and will hold further meetings to decide which one is best.

The Canandaigua V.A. Medical Center was targeted for closing three years ago as part of CARES, a national review of the nation's veterans' health care system.

A community-wide fight brought thousands of area residents, politicians and veterans together to save the Canandaigua V.A. Center. Fourteen months ago, the government said it would keep Veterans' health services in Canandaigua.

Some veterans who attended Thursday's announcement said they're still skeptical that all the current services will stay in Canandaigua.

The Canandaigua V.A. Center is known for its psychiatric services. It has the only beds for psych patients in the Rochester-Finger Lakes area.

Veterans we spoke with said they don't want any of those beds taken away.

Advisory panel members say the nature of psychiatric care is changing, and fewer patients need to be admitted to hospitals these days.
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