Sandy relief bill covers some of VA’s information technology costs

The $50 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill passed by the Senate yesterday and awaiting President Obama’s signature includes $207 million for the Manhattan Veterans Affairs hospital, closed due to extensive flood damage after the October 2012 storm.

The 2013 Disaster Relief Appropriations Act also provides $531,000 for the VA information technology account for Sandy related expenses.

Martina Parauda, director of VA’s New York Harbor Healthcare System, said in a Facebook post last week after the House passed the bill that the disaster funds will allow VA to “move forward with plans to redesign the facility, creating a new home for outpatient clinics and move utilities above sea level.”

Outpatient clinics at the hospital will reopen in March, Parauda said.