Seattle veterans clinic closes after mold, ceiling leak reports

The complaints also drew questions from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Adam Smith, who called on VA administrators to explain what had “prevented the planned and approved renovations of the building” over the past decade.

A recent NWPB and Cascade PBS investigation found patients and staff in the clinic’s Building 18 endured years of a failing HVAC system in need of replacement. It left the building cold in the winter and stuffy in the summer. The facility also did not have proper air circulation and had recurring water leaks that brought ceiling tiles crashing down onto desks. 

Murray and Smith cited recent reporting outlining “numerous health and safety hazards including ceiling leaks, overtaxed ventilation systems, mold, and water-damage” in a July 2 letter addressed to the health care system’s executive director, Dr. Thomas Bundt.

“There are also reports that although these conditions have been present for years, maintenance and deadlines for moving operations out of the building were continuously delayed, …  endangering the staff and patients who use this building on a daily basis,” the letter states.

This story was reported in collaboration with Northwest Public Broadcasting.

Murray and Smith asked the VA to provide a current timeline for the building and to commit to biannual briefings on the hospital campus with staffers from each office. The two elected officials also wrote in the letter that Congress had authorized a demolition plan for Building 18 and others on the Seattle campus in 2012, and that final funding had been secured this year.

A local VA spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter on Tuesday morning.

“We are in the process of addressing the areas raised in the letter directly with those congressional offices,” she wrote.

As detailed in prior reporting by NWPB and Cascade PBS, Building 18 had been slated for demolition for over a decade. In that time, VA administrators stopped investing significant money in the building, with its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system flagged for replacement since at least 2004. 

Water leaks caused ceiling tiles to collapse; the HVAC system could not adequately cool or heat the space; and staff and patients said they saw mold in the building. The ventilation system also did not meet air circulation requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a VA report. 

The agency started relocating staff and services in August 2023, according to the VA, with a goal of having everyone out by the end of that year, which did not happen.

While waiting to be moved, some staffers took complaints to their elected representatives. The July letter from Murray and Smith detailed some of those letters, sent last fall by staffers in the logistic office. 

In response to questions from NWPB and Cascade PBS in late June, the VA said it was on track to have all staff and services out of Building 18 in a couple of months, but declined to provide a more specific timeline.