History
The Miami VA Healthcare System has a long and colorful history. In 1942, the commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces directed that an officer candidate school be established to maintain an Air Force Replacement Training Center with facilities for medical services. The Floridian and Nautilus Hotels were used for this purpose. The Nautilus is considered to have been the first Veterans Administration hospital in the Greater Miami Area. The facilities of the Nautilus were soon inadequate for the number of troops stationed in the area and another Air Force Team was called in to inspect all hotels in South Florida. The famed Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables was selected and became an Army Hospital in 1946. It was renamed Pratt General Hospital in honor of one of the U.S. Army Air Forces' pioneer flight surgeons. For more information visit www.miami.va.gov/about/history.asp.
Specialties
The Miami VA Healthcare System serves Veterans in three South Florida counties: Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe, with an estimated Veteran population of 175,000. Our parent facility is the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center opened in 1968 and is located on 26.3 acres in downtown Miami. The Miami VA Healthcare System is an accredited comprehensive medical provider, providing general medical, surgical, inpatient and outpatient mental health services. The Miami VA Healthcare System includes an AIDS/HIV center, a prosthetic treatment center, spinal cord injury rehabilitative center, and Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC). The Miami VA Healthcare System is recognized as a Center of Excellence in Spinal Cord Injury Research, Substance Abuse Treatment and is a recognized Chest Pain Center. For more information about the Miami VA Healthcare System visit www.miami.va.gov.