Since 1930, when President Herbert Hoover created the Veterans Administration (now called the Department of Veterans Affairs) the VA has provided medical services for veterans who have been honorably discharged, whether they served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Air Force. Here are 50 of the most decorated war heroes in American history.
There were about 19 million veterans in the U.S. in 2021, according to Pew Research Center,
with over 9 million enrolled in the VA health care program. With 1,298 VA health care facilities serving veterans, the Veterans Health Administration is the largest integrated health care system in the United States.
The backbone of veterans medical services are the 171 VA Medical Centers around the country, which provide primary care, surgery, physical therapy, mental health services, pharmacies, and additional specialty services like oncology, prosthetics, and dental care. The service capacities of these centers vary widely, depending on their size.
To determine America’s largest military hospitals, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 50 largest VA hospitals by number of staffed beds, a ranking by health care market data and analytics firm Definitive Healthcare. Hospitals were ranked based on the number of staffed beds. The directory includes Veterans Medical Centers in U.S. states and territories. Network information is from VA.gov.
The largest VA hospital on our list has 716 staffed beds, which places it among the ranks of the largest hospitals in the nation. Of the largest VA Medical Centers, most are clustered in the Northeast, the South, and the Midwest, and many are in densely-populated urban areas, including Los Angeles, New York City, Houston, and Minneapolis. This is the state with the most VA hospitals.
Click here to see America’s largest veterans hospitals.
Source: Courtesy of Lexington VA Health Care System via Facebook
50. Lexington VA Medical Center – Troy Bowling Campus
> Location: Lexington, Kentucky
> Number of beds: 199
> Network: VA MidSouth Healthcare Network
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
49. Buffalo VA Medical Center
> Location: Buffalo, New York
> Number of beds: 199
> Network: VA New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network
48. Lexington VA Medical Center – Franklin R Sousley Campus
> Location: Lexington, Kentucky
> Number of beds: 199
> Network: VA MidSouth Healthcare Network
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
47. Captain James A Lovell Federal Health Care Center
> Location: North Chicago, Illinois
> Number of beds: 199
> Network: VA Great Lakes Health Care System
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
46. New Orleans VA Medical Center
> Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
> Number of beds: 200
> Network: VA South Central VA Health Care Network
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
45. Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
> Location: Chicago, Illinois
> Number of beds: 200
> Network: VA Great Lakes Health Care System
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Source: Courtesy of Central Texas VA Health Care System via Facebook
44. Doris Miller Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
> Location: Waco, Texas
> Number of beds: 204
> Network: VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
43. Sheridan VA Medical Center
> Location: Sheridan, Wyoming
> Number of beds: 208
> Network: VA Rocky Mountain Network
42. William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center
> Location: Columbia, South Carolina
> Number of beds: 216
> Network: VA Southeast Network
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Source: Courtesy of Connecticut VA Healthcare System via Facebook
41. West Haven VA Medical Center
> Location: West Haven, Connecticut
> Number of beds: 216
> Network: VA New England Healthcare System
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
40. Canandaigua VA Medical Center
> Location: Canandaigua, New York
> Number of beds: 218
> Network: VA New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
39. Kerrville VA Medical Center
> Location: Kerrville, Texas
> Number of beds: 226
> Network: VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network
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Source: Courtesy of VA Portland Health Care System via Facebook
38. Portland VA Medical Center – Main Campus
> Location: Portland, Oregon
> Number of beds: 231
> Network: VA Northwest Health Network
Source: Courtesy of VA Long Beach Healthcare System via Facebook
37. Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center
> Location: Long Beach, California
> Number of beds: 237
> Network: VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network
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Source: Courtesy of VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System via Facebook
36. Nashville VA Medical Center
> Location: Nashville, Tennessee
> Number of beds: 238
> Network: VA MidSouth Healthcare Network
Source: Courtesy of VA Northern Indiana Health Care System via Facebook
35. Fort Wayne VA Medical Center
> Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
> Number of beds: 243
> Network: VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio Indiana and Michigan
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
34. Memphis VA Medical Center
> Location: Memphis, Tennessee
> Number of beds: 244
> Network: VA MidSouth Healthcare Network
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Source: Courtesy of Tomah VA Medical Center via Facebook
33. Tomah VA Medical Center
> Location: Tomah, Wisconsin
> Number of beds: 246
> Network: VA Great Lakes Health Care System
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
32. West Palm Beach VA Medical Center
> Location: West Palm Beach, Florida
> Number of beds: 254
> Network: VA Sunshine Healthcare Network
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
31. Audie L Murphy VA Hospital
> Location: San Antonio, Texas
> Number of beds: 268
> Network: VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network
Source: Courtesy of Richmond VA Medical Center via Facebook
30. Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center
> Location: Richmond, Virginia
> Number of beds: 273
> Network: VA Mid – Atlantic Health Care Network
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Source: Courtesy of Battle Creek VA Medical Center via Facebook
29. Battle Creek VA Medical Center
> Location: Battle Creek, Michigan
> Number of beds: 276
> Network: VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio Indiana and Michigan
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
28. Atlanta VA Medical Center
> Location: Decatur, Georgia
> Number of beds: 285
> Network: VA Southeast Network
Source: Courtesy of VA North Texas Health Care System via Facebook
27. Dallas VA Medical Center
> Location: Dallas, Texas
> Number of beds: 289
> Network: VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
26. Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
> Location: Gainesville, Florida
> Number of beds: 289
> Network: VA Sunshine Healthcare Network
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
25. Seattle VA Medical Center
> Location: Seattle, Washington
> Number of beds: 291
> Network: VA Northwest Health Network
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
24. Tucson VA Medical Center
> Location: Tucson, Arizona
> Number of beds: 295
> Network: VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network
Source: f8grapher / iStock via Getty Images
23. San Diego VA Medical Center
> Location: San Diego, California
> Number of beds: 296
> Network: VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
22. Coatesville VA Medical Center
> Location: Coatesville, Pennsylvania
> Number of beds: 302
> Network: VA Healthcare
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
21. Minneapolis VA Medical Center
> Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
> Number of beds: 309
> Network: VA Midwest Health Care Network
Source: Courtesy of James J. Peters VA Medical Center via Facebook
20. James J Peters VA Medical Center
> Location: Bronx, New York
> Number of beds: 311
> Network: VA New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network
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Source: Courtesy of Brian B. via Yelp
19. Alvin C York Veterans Administration Medical Center
> Location: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
> Number of beds: 347
> Network: VA MidSouth Healthcare Network
Source: Courtesy of VA Caribbean Healthcare System via Facebook
18. San Juan VA Medical Center
> Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
> Number of beds: 348
> Network: VA Sunshine Healthcare Network
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
17. Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center
> Location: Houston, Texas
> Number of beds: 350
> Network: VA South Central VA Health Care Network
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Source: Courtesy of VA St. Louis Health Care System via Facebook
16. John J Cochran Veterans Hospital
> Location: St. Louis, Missouri
> Number of beds: 355
> Network: VA Heartland Network
Source: Courtesy of VA Maryland Health Care System via Facebook
15. Perry Point VA Medical Center
> Location: Perry Point, Maryland
> Number of beds: 357
> Network: VA Capitol Health Care Network
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Source: Courtesy of VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System via Facebook
14. H John Heinz III Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
> Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
> Number of beds: 358
> Network: VA Healthcare
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
13. Bruce W Carter VA Medical Center
> Location: Miami, Florida
> Number of beds: 372
> Network: VA Sunshine Healthcare Network
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
12. St Albans VA Medical Center
> Location: Queens, New York
> Number of beds: 386
> Network: VA New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network
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Source: Courtesy of St Cloud VA Health Care System via Facebook
11. St Cloud VA Medical Center
> Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota
> Number of beds: 388
> Network: VA Midwest Health Care Network
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
10. James A Haley Veterans Hospital
> Location: Tampa, Florida
> Number of beds: 415
> Network: VA Sunshine Healthcare Network
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
9. Bath VA Medical Center
> Location: Bath, New York
> Number of beds: 440
> Network: VA New York/New Jersey VA Health Care Network
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
8. Brockton VA Medical Center
> Location: Brockton, Massachusetts
> Number of beds: 448
> Network: VA New England Healthcare System
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
7. West Roxbury VA Medical Center
> Location: Boston, Massachusetts
> Number of beds: 448
> Network: VA New England Healthcare System
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Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
6. Cincinnati VA Medical Center
> Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
> Number of beds: 463
> Network: VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio Indiana and Michigan
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
5. Edward Hines Jr VA Hospital
> Location: Hines, Illinois
> Number of beds: 483
> Network: VA Great Lakes Health Care System
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Source: Courtesy of VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System via Facebook
4. West Los Angeles VA Medical Center
> Location: Los Angeles, California
> Number of beds: 500
> Network: VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network
3. Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
> Location: Cleveland, Ohio
> Number of beds: 586
> Network: VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio Indiana and Michigan
Source: veteranshealth / Flickr
2. Southern Oregon VA Rehabilitation Center
> Location: White City, Oregon
> Number of beds: 600
> Network: VA Northwest Health Network
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Source: Courtesy of VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System via Facebook
1. Biloxi VA Medical Center
> Location: Biloxi, Mississippi
> Number of beds: 716
> Network: VA South Central VA Health Care Network
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