By Khalida Sarwari
The final steel beam was positioned into place this afternoon at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs hospital’s new mental health center at a ceremony attended by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Boxer appeared at the construction site to discuss the importance of the new facility for service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Its function is so critical,” Boxer said. “Many of the signature injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are invisible to the eye, but the fact that they cannot be seen easily does not mean they are easy to overcome.”
After delivering her remarks, Boxer signed the beam, which had a small tree bearing American flags on the right and a larger American flag on the left.
The hospital received a $54 million federal investment for the construction of the 80-bed facility, which began last year.
Prior to the ceremony, Boxer toured the hospital and met with patients and doctors at the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center and with families at the Palo Alto Fisher House.