Groundbreaking for state veteran home in Flagstaff set for this weekend

PHOENIX — The first phase of construction for the newest Arizona State Veteran Home will take place up north over the weekend.

The Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services is scheduled to break ground on the Flagstaff location at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The 10 acres of land the building will eventually sit on was donated by the city as the ADVS works to complete another veterans’ home in the state.

According to a press release, 39% of the veterans living in the counties surrounding the location are over 65 years old.

The 80-bed home will be broken up into three 20-bed long-term care units and one memory care unit.

Each room will be furnished and private, with professionally skilled nursing staff on hand.

The staff will be versed in respiratory therapy, rehabilitative work, therapeutic recreation and exercise classes as well as physical, occupational and speech therapies.

Additional amenities include laundry services, a meditation room, a gift shop and a hair salon.

The department currently runs two veterans homes, a 200-bed skilled nursing facility in central Phoenix and a 120-bed facility in Tucson.

In addition to the Flagstaff location, the ADVS is also building a new veterans’ home in Yuma.

Groundbreaking for the Yuma site is set for June 22.

The Legislature approved $27 million for the new Yuma and Flagstaff facilities in recent years and the federal government is funding the majority of the construction costs.

The expected completion for the home is set for June 2021.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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