The first Veterans Affairs hospital to be built in the United States since 1995 came one step closer to opening Tuesday with a dedication ceremony in Orlando.
The Orlando VA Medical Center, at Lake Nona's Medical City, has been seven years in the making.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Rep. John Mica were on hand at Tuesday morning's dedication ceremony.
Nestled across from the University of Central Florida's Medical School, the VA Center will have 134 inpatient beds. Veterans will have access to dental and hearing loss services, as well as mental health services.
Veterans are allowed to come to the VA Center to see their primary care doctor, but only part of the medical center is accessible. The emergency room, which is six months from being open along with the hospital, will be the first for veterans.
Doctors are assisting around 102,000 patients, but when the hospital is finished officials expect to serve 400,000 veterans.
Mica said there was a collective effort in Washington, D.C., to get the hospital up and operational.
"We could have been like Denver is right now," Mica said. "They stopped the project. There were cost overruns, there were problems with contractors. The whole delegation came together, and we said, 'Let's move forward. You can settle your differences later.'"
Below are tweets from the ceremony and reception Tuesday from the VA Hospital's official Twitter account, @OrlandoVAMC: