Seventy-seven years ago this month, the Battle of Iwo Jima began on the tiny island in the Pacific. This battle was one of the most hard fought of World War II, resulting in the death of 7,360 U.S. service men.
There aren’t very many World War II veterans left in the nation. Quite a few of the ones who do remain with us require specialized care, as do many of our aging veterans.
Thirty-six percent of the veterans living in this state, or around 52,000, are 70 years old or older. And around 56,000 are between the ages of 50 and 69. That is a very large portion of our veterans population. The new veterans nursing facility in Beckley will serve a large contingent of this population. And like the one currently located in the north central portion of the state, it will be one of the finest nursing homes in the nation.
While the number of older veterans continues to increase, we must look to how we will care for them. That is why we operate a veterans nursing facility in north central part of the state, and it is why we are currently in the planning phases for building one in the southern region as well.
This new nursing home will be located on property we have already obtained near the Jackie Withrow Hospital in Beckley. It will be state of the art and will allow us to provide the very best care to our aging veterans now and for years to come. This location was chosen because it is near the VAMC in Beckley.
Federal and state funding will be utilized for this project. We would again like to express our appreciation to Governor Jim Justice for allocating funds for construction. This project will greatly enhance our ability to serve our aging veterans’ population.
We look forward to breaking ground on this project in the future. We will continue to keep the public updated as to our progress.