| Offices : Beckley • Charleston • Fairmont • Martinsburg • Washington, DC | E-mail Senator Rockefeller |
November 7, 2006
Veterans Day Marks Celebration of New Veterans Nursing Home
By Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Veterans Day is a time for reflection, gratitude and respect for the men and women who bravely serve our country. Appreciation for their service is deep and strong across the nation, but it is appreciated no place more than in West Virginia. This year, I am honored to be part of a Veterans Day celebration that will showcase our gratitude by unveiling to West Virginia veterans the state’s very first Veterans Nursing Home in Clarksburg.
This marks the culmination of eight years of effort to open a nursing facility here in West Virginia so that many of our veterans can receive quality, long-lasting care in their home state.
For too long, many of our veterans have had to seek long-term care hundreds of miles from their homes. So when I saw an opportunity to open a new nursing home here in West Virginia, I partnered with our veterans and elected leaders to make this dream a reality.
In 1998, I urged state leaders to begin the process of approving legislation that would facilitate the nursing home’s construction. Our veterans, working with the members of the West Virginia Legislature, went to work in the halls of the State Capitol. Three years later, under Governor Wise, the Legislature passed a bill that set the wheels in motion.
In 2003, working together with Senator Byrd and Congressman Mollohan, we secured federal funds for up to 65 percent of the construction costs. Construction began in the following year on the Clarksburg campus of the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC).
Since then, the continued support of West Virginia lawmakers, Governor Manchin and the Clarksburg VAMC have helped bring to life this 120-bed facility, which will include a separate Alzheimer’s care unit. It now becomes part of a far-reaching care network, comprised of four medical centers, nine veterans’ centers and eight community-based outreach clinics that serve veterans across the state.
Through this network, West Virginia veterans will have greater access to quality health care than ever before. Last year, our medical centers and clinics saw more than 300,000 outpatient visits and more than 3,500 hospital admissions. And now, with this nursing home, many of our veterans and their families can rest easier knowing that should extended care be needed, they won’t be far from home.
Our state has an extraordinary, proud tradition of military service. On our behalf, West Virginia soldiers bravely accept any mission given to them, knowing they are risking their lives or may suffer wounds that can last a lifetime. When our veterans return home, they shouldn’t have to face any more battles. To the greatest extent possible, they should be able to spend their days in comfort, not in pain.
This is why it is essential that we provide our veterans with the quality care they need here in West Virginia. We have made great progress in improving veterans’ access to health care in our state – and now, with the dedication of this nursing home, we can truly extend that care through our veterans’ entire lives. They deserve it, they earned it, and we are grateful for their service.
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