Trepte to Build VA Spinal Cord Injury Center

Trepte Construction Co., San Diego, has received a $9.2-million contract to build a 68,000-square-foot spinal cord injury center at Veterans Administration Hospital in La Jolla that will be a prototype for future centers specializing in this field.

The facility will have 30 beds for newly injured patients, an outpatient clinic and one apartment to help patients adjust back to a home environment.

San Diego architect Donald J. Reeves received a national award from the Paralyzed Veterans of America for his design of the center.

The typical patient is a young military man who was injured in a motorcycle accident, according to Paul Muzzy, Trepte’s director of marketing. Currently, there are about 4,000 spinal cord injuries in the nation each year, he said.