A new wing at one of Virginia's Veterans’ Care Centers aims to reduce the number of homeless veterans, while providing quality senior services for those with declining mental and physical health.
Governor McAuliffe says a new state-funded expansion of a Richmond facility is just the beginning of several projects aimed at filling a huge void in veterans’ services and making the Commonwealth an invaluable military asset.
The 40 new beds at the Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center in Richmond bring the number of private rooms at the facility to 200. The Governor says this complements a 240-bed center in Roanoke.
"I also announced that we'll be building two new veterans health care facilities--one in Hampton Roads, and one in Northern Virginia. We can't wait for the VA to do their job. We can't--because these folks are in desperate need of healthcare today so we're going to step up to the plate. These folks have put on the military uniform, have fought for our nation and when they come back, they have earned healthcare and we need to make sure we have healthcare provided for them so that they can live the dignified life that they've earned ."
The Richmond center is a state-of-the-art facility with various amenities that provides rehabilitative, Alzheimer's and dementia services for veterans. The announcement and ribbon-cutting come a day after the Governor unveiled plans to strengthen the military's national role and economic activity in Virginia even while there are cutbacks in troops and military spending. The plans include enhancing existing facilities, improving the development of military leaders, and investing in infrastructure for new missions.