The Portland Vancouver, Wash., division hosts a nursing skilled-care unit, as well as a nationally recognized adult day health and chemical addiction rehabilitation service. VA researchers led the way in developing the cardiac pacemaker, the CT scan, magnetic source imaging, and improving artificial limbs. The Portland medical center is the leading VA research institution for the state of Oregon. Research is conducted in a total of 67,000 square feet of wet and dry lab space and includes basic science, health services, cooperative studies, epidemiology and outcomes research. The recently dedicated Northwest VA Cancer Research Center adds approximately 96,000 gross square feet and coordinates research and data analysis with the Oregon Cancer Center.
Research programs reflect the special needs and interests of veterans.
The breadth of research includes studies on diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ototoxicity, the development of new anti-psychotic drugs, blood pressure regulation in the elderly and novel treatments of solid tumors and central nervous system tumors. During the last six years the Portland was received several large grants that reflect the critical mass of scientists who have assembled here to investigate important diseases. In 1994, the Portland VA was named one of three VA-funded centers to investigate unexplained illnesses of veterans who served in the Gulf War. In 1995, Portland received a major component of a NIH -funded alcohol center. The following year, Portland and its affiliate, Oregon Health Sciences University, were supported as a NIH-funded Cancer Center.