Governor McAuliffe Announces Site for New Veterans Care Center
August 26, 2016
Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced that a site in Virginia Beach has been selected for a planned 120-bed Veterans Care Center. The new care center will be built in Virginia Beach's bio health corridor on a 24-acre site off the planned extension of Nimmo Parkway and West Neck Road. Construction is scheduled to start in late 2017, and completion is expected in late 2019. "I am pleased to announce that the center will be built on land donated by the City of Virginia Beach, at no cost to the state," Governor McAuliffe stated. "The new Veterans Care Center will be a state-of-the-art facility providing skilled nursing care, Alzheimer's/dementia care, and short-term rehabilitative care. The Hampton Roads region is home to over 200,000 veterans, the largest concentration in the Commonwealth, and we owe it to them, and their families, to build this new facility.""The City of Virginia Beach is excited to have been chosen as the site of the new Veterans Care Center," said Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr. "Our veterans are a critical part of this community, and this Veterans Care Center will offer many veterans the care they have earned," he added.The 120-bed facility will feature all private rooms that will be organized into households that surround a central community center. The facility will provide comprehensive care with on-site laboratory, x-rays, physical therapy, podiatry care and other ancillary health care services similar to the other veterans care center recently announced in Northern Virginia."The location in Virginia Beach's bio corridor reinforces the significance of this initiative," said Virginia Beach Economic Development Director Warren D. Harris. "VaBeachBio is home to a number of regional partners, including biomedical organizations, institutions of higher education and regional healthcare leaders. This area is Virginia Beach's leading destination for bio and life sciences companies and members of the growing biomedical, healthcare and life sciences workforce and their families. Proximity of the Veterans Care Center to these bio medical assets will be a major advantage in the care of our veterans." This biomedical and life sciences cluster is enhanced by direct access to resources like Eastern Virginia Medical School, Sentara Health, Bon Secours Health System, Children's Hospital of The Kings' Daughters, LifeNet Health and its Center for Regenerative Medicine, and the global headquarters of Operation Smile."The new Veterans Care Center will deliver top-quality care to Virginia veterans in a home-like setting," said John C. Harvey, Jr., Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs. "The construction of this state-of-the-art facility demonstrates Virginia's continued dedication to providing excellent services to our veterans," he added.Planning for new veterans care centers in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia began in earnest during the 2015 General Assembly session with legislation patroned by Delegates Kirk Cox, Chris Stolle, Gordon Helsel, and Ron Villanueva, and Senators Toddy Puller and Louise Lucas. Full funding for the two projects, estimated at $96 million, was provided for in 2016 legislation patroned by Delegates Kirk Cox, Chris Stolle, Rich Anderson, and Jackson Miller. The 2015 and 2016 bills were unanimously approved by the General Assembly. "I want to thank Governor McAuliffe, Secretary Harvey, Mayor Sessoms, and the entire Virginia General Assembly for their steadfast commitment to these projects," said Delegate Stolle. "This is an exciting day for the Hampton Roads region and for Virginia's veterans."The Virginia Beach Veterans Care Center will be the Commonwealth's fourth, joining the Virginia Veterans Care Center in Roanoke, which opened in 1992; the Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center in Richmond, which opened in 2008; and the Puller Veterans Care Center, to be built in Fauquier County. About the Virginia Department of Veterans ServicesThe Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) operates 26 benefit services offices that assist veterans and their family members in filing claims for federal veterans benefits; two long-term care facilities offering nursing, assisted living, and domiciliary care for veterans, and three veterans cemeteries that provide an honored final resting place for veterans and their families. VDVS provides veterans and family members with direct linkages to needed services including behavioral healthcare, housing, employment, education, and other programs. The Department operates the Virginia War Memorial, the Commonwealth of Virginia's monument to honor the memory of Virginia's men and women who demonstrated a willingness to serve and fight to defend our way of life from World War II to the present.The mission of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development is to attract and retain national and international businesses to stimulate capital investment and create jobs. Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia with a population of 450,000, and it is the 37th largest in the United States. It is recognized as one of the Best Run Cities in America by 24/7 Wall St. The Department of Economic Development received re-accreditation through the International Economic Development Council in 2016 and is one of only 29 economic development organizations in the world to have this recognition. It is listed among the Top Five Overall Mid-sized American Cities of the Future, Top 10 for Economic Potential and Top Five for Infrastructure by fDi magazine. CNNMoney.com ranked Virginia Beach as the Easiest Place to Start a Business and the 2nd Most Business-Friendly City in the country. For more information, visit www.yesvirginiabeach.com.
