The secretary of the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance says the state needs to chip in about $25 million to build a 120-bed veterans nursing home in Raleigh County.
A law passed last legislative session authorized the new facility in Beckley. Secretary Rick Thompson told a state legislative panel this week the law didn’t provide the money to build it.
Thompson said if the state covers 35 percent of construction costs, the federal government will cover the rest. He said he doesn’t think all the money needs to be available upfront in order to get on a federal waiting list.
The law allows the agriculture commissioner to transfer 17 acres next to the Jackie Withrow Hospital to Veterans Assistance for the new facility.
The only existing state-run veterans nursing home is in Clarksburg and its full .
Tag: Clarksburg Veteran’s Nursing Home
Lawmakers Tour North Central West Virginia During Interim Meetings
State lawmakers wrapped up their August interim meetings Wednesday, but legislators decided to take the show on the road this month, meeting in Bridgeport and touring parts of North Central West Virginia.
While some of their interim meetings were held in conference rooms around long tables just like in Charleston, many had delegates and senators out exploring the area.
Legislators took a tour of the I-79 Technology Park in Fairmont, visited Clarksburg’s United Technical Center, and met with West Virginia University President Gordon Gee in Morgantown—just to name a few examples of their outings.
At the Clarksburg Veteran’s Nursing Home, Clarksburg native and House Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Richard Iaquinta urged his fellow lawmakers to consider building a second home for veterans in southern West Virginia.
Credit Ashton Marra / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
If the state took on the endeavor the federal government would pay two thirds of the construction costs and a portion of health benefits for some veterans, but Senate Finance Chairman Roman Prezioso said it is still a reoccurring cost for the state that lawmakers would have to prioritize.
“You have to maintain the facility after it’s built,” he said during a tour Wednesday, “obviously the salaries, the utilities, the maintenance, the upkeep, all of that has to be taken into consideration.”
September interims return to Charleston where lawmakers may be called into a special session focused on unintended consequences stemming from this year’s above ground storage tank bill.