WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today awarded a grant of more than $1 million to the Commonwealth of Virginia for improvements to the VirginiaVeteransCareCenter in Roanoke.
"This grant honors our commitment to care for the men and women who have served in uniform," said the Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. “Our federal-state partnership will provide a comfortable home for Virginia’s veterans in a time of personal need.”
The $1,082,762 grant will pay up to 65 percent of the costs for renovation of a storage building and laundry at the 240-bed, state-run facility. Overall cost of the project is estimated at nearly $1.7 million.
VA’s State Home Program is a partnership with the states to acquire, construct or renovate nursing homes, domiciliaries and adult day health care facilities for veterans. When construction is complete, the facilities qualify for per diem payments from VA, although the states own and operate the homes.
In fiscal year 2004, VA spent more than $1.7 billion in Virginia to serve over 750,000 state veterans. VA operates three major medical centers in Hampton, Richmond and Salem, with outpatient clinics and Vet Centers in many Virginia communities.
