Brewer Applauds Official Federal Recognition of Tucson Vet Home

PHOENIX – Governor Jan Brewer today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has designated the Arizona State Veteran Home in Tucson an officially-sanctioned State Veteran Home.

With the federal recognition, the new facility will begin collecting from the VA about $390 per resident in federal per diem, enabling the State to fill the remainder of the State Veteran Home’s 120 beds. The federal funds are used to meet the needs of the facility’s residents.

“This is a wonderful day for Arizona’s veterans,” said Governor Brewer. “The federal government’s approval and recognition of the State Veteran Home will assist us in our ongoing mission to provide highquality care and services to our veterans in the twilight of their lives. These men and women served our country nobly and are most worthy of this fine facility.”

The new, 130,000-square-foot Arizona State Veteran Home, located at the Tucson Veteran’s Services Hospital, was dedicated by Governor Brewer and the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services (AZDVS) on Veterans Day 2011. The facility provides its occupants with high-level long-term care in a home-like environment. Specialized care will be available, including a wing for Veterans with Alzheimer’s.

A seven-member team from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spent three days this week inspecting everything from the State Veteran Home’s engineering plant to resident care procedures and the overall facility environment in order to ensure it meets the high standards required to be officially sanctioned.

On Thursday, the VA informed the State of Arizona that the facility had passed the inspection.

“This is a long-awaited major step in providing support to our Southern Arizona veterans,” said Joey Strickland, Director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services. “We are honored to serve those heroes who will make the State Veteran Home their home.”

There are approximately 600,000 veterans living in Arizona, including more than 100,000 in Metro Tucson. The State Veteran Home in Tucson is the second such facility run by the State, joining an existing institution built in Phoenix in 1995.