Baltimore VA Medical Center Emergency Department Receives First Ambulance Patient

The Baltimore VA Medical Center emergency department received its first patient transported by ambulance on February 9, 2026, a milestone a University of Maryland Department of Emergency Medicine blog post described as occurring during the Center’s 73-year history. For veterans in Baltimore City, the event may signal expanded options for emergency transport and care on the VA campus across from the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The VA facility sits on the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus and is connected to the university hospital by a bridge. University sources describe the Baltimore VA Medical Center as providing current technology and note that it “was the first medical facility in the world to create a filmless radiology department.” The same account says the building officially opened its doors in January 1993 while also noting the center “has been here for decades,” a timeline detail that differs from the blog post reference to 73 years and that city residents may seek clarified through public records.

Emergency care at the VA is staffed by board-certified and board-eligible physicians who are faculty members of the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine. Those physicians take part in resident and medical student teaching, research and department leadership, according to institutional descriptions. The ambulance arrival brings emergency transport capability directly to that academic-staffed emergency department for the first time, as reported.

The facility’s recent history includes a review by the Office of Inspector General that raised concerns about data integrity in the emergency department information system, or EDIS. The OIG issued five recommendations to the Under Secretary for Health, including that Baltimore VA reevaluate its corrective action plan; ensure staff receive training on accurate triage time recording in EDIS; strengthen data reliability reviews; establish routine oversight at VISN and facility levels; and monitor care for the highest acuity patients, those with Emergency Severity Index levels 1 and 2.

The OIG excerpt documents that Baltimore VA leaders said they were unaware of inappropriate edits to admission and discharge times and that the emergency department director could not explain the edits. In a chief of staff letter cited in the audit, the chief of staff wrote, “Such alterations of this data impact the metrics used to monitor the quality and safety of patient care. Such actions raise significant concerns about your professional conduct, honesty and integrity in your practice and puts our facility at risk.” As corrective steps, the facility hired a new emergency department director effective March 4, 2020, removed users’ ability to retrospectively update EDIS on March 6, 2020, and planned a review of EDIS data from January 2021 through June 2021 for reporting to its executive council. VHA also said it is updating directives to include added training responsibilities for EDIS use.

National recognition programs for emergency departments continue to highlight nursing pride and team commitment. “As I called many of these departments to let them know they were being recognized, it was a treat to hear the excitement and pride these nurses have for their teams,” Oglesby said. “They show such amazing energy, talent and commitment to the specialty.”

For Baltimore veterans and families, the ambulance arrival is an immediate development in access to local emergency care at the VA campus. City residents will want clarification from VA and University officials on whether ambulance routing to the Baltimore VA Medical Center will be routine going forward and on the outcomes of the facility’s EDIS data review and other oversight measures.