The US Department of Veterans Affairs operates America’s largest integrated health care system with over 1,700 sites of care, serving 8.76 million veterans each year. Operating and maintaining such a large portfolio presents a significant financial challenge. One such example is the The Veterans Administration Medical Center located in Omaha, Nebraska. The VA’s own planning report describes it as a facility that “no longer meets Veterans’ needs.” With construction of a new Omaha veterans hospital years away, VA officials are strategically shoring up the aging buildings.

In 2014, VAMC Omaha’s Facilities Management were faced with emergency replacement of several “end of life” roof sections. The challenge was how to replace high rise roof assemblies with minimal disruption to medical operations. Pilot projects utilizing air-sealed, pressure-equalized roof replacement technology were successful. In 2016, a design professional was engaged to specify and bid a comprehensive upgrade utilizing this advanced technology. A key strategy was the construction of moisture mitigation capabilities allowing the VAMC to recover and recycle 100% of existing insulation materials. The roofs were designed to be more cost effective, highly weather resistance while minimizing waste streams.

In 2018, the Grand Island VAMC facility was reroofed with the same technology.



New roof assemblies are designed and installed to achieve:

• Code compliance with wind uplift resistance engineered to ASCE standards
• Longevity through continual moisture mitigation
• Hail resistance
• High level of environmental stewardship through “Waste and Recycling Management”: Up to 676,525 pounds of waste reduction from existing roof assemblies or equivalent of an estimated 31 large dumpsters. The use of 100% upcycled cover boards allowed 2,100,000 juice and milk cartons to be diverted from midwest landfills

Location:

Grand Island and Omaha, NE

Owner:

US Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of Construction and Facility Management

Roofing Contractor:

Various WindSmart Approved Applicators

Square Footage:

200,000+

Materials:

60-Mil EPDM

Year Completed:

2016-2018