New Nursing Home to Serve East Tennessee's Veterans

CONGRESSMAN JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

E-NEWSLETTER

APRIL 5, 2005

Last week I joined Governor Phil Bredesen and Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale in breaking ground on East Tennessee's first veterans nursing home.  My staff and I have worked on this project for many years, and the ceremony marked one of the proudest moments of my service to the Second District. 

This nursing home is of such great importance that at one point I assigned a member of my staff to lobby the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for funding on a daily basis.  Those efforts paid off last January when the federal government allocated $10.6 million for construction. 

These funds represent 65 percent of the building's total budget.  The state government and Knox County will provide another $6 million to complete construction. 

We received informal, tentative VA approval for the project several years ago, but the State of Tennessee would not agree to move forward because veterans nursing homes in West and Middle Tennessee were not completely full (although they were very close).  

Fortunately, veterans throughout East Tennessee made hundreds of telephone calls and wrote countless letters in support of the new facility.  Our region has one of the country's largest populations of retired service members, and our local veterans deserve much of the credit for pushing this search for funding over the top and making the groundbreaking possible. 

East Tennessee is home to nearly 40 percent of the state's 560,000 veterans, and for many years the lack of a nursing home in our area has forced them to travel several hundred miles to Humboldt and Murfreesboro for long-term care.  I am pleased this new facility will provide a much more reasonable alternative to those who have served our Nation so bravely. 

The nursing home will house 140 beds in 73,500 square feet when completed next year.  The Tennessee State Veterans Home Board, which will operate the facility, has reserved 20 of those beds exclusively for Alzheimer's patients. 

Located just off Pellissippi Parkway in the Hardin Valley area, the nursing home will also bear the name of former State Senator Ben Atchley and generate 180 new jobs for our local economy. 

I feel veterans have sacrificed more for our Nation than most of us will ever be called upon to give, and I will continue to support policies that ensure East Tennessee's veterans receive the benefits, healthcare, and support they deserve. 

Since the Republican Party took control of Congress ten years ago, the average spending per veteran has grown by more than $1,400 - an increase of almost 103 percent.   

In contrast, spending throughout the previous decade (1984-1994) rose by slightly less than $400 per veteran.  That amounts to a growth rate of less than 43 percent.   

The federal budget for veterans spending has increased by $20 billion over the last four years alone.  Overall veterans spending is up 42 percent during that time, and health care expenditures for veterans have grown by 38 percent over the same period. 

The wellbeing of those who have proudly served in the United States armed forces is a top priority for both Congress and the President.  They have earned the best assistance our government can provide, and we will continue striving to meet their needs.