Construction progressing on new veterans’ home

The foundation is nearly finished and the walls will soon start going up on the new Northern Nevada Veterans Home in Sparks, reports the Nevada Department of Veterans Services.

Construction is slated for completion by Nov. 9, the Friday before Veterans Day, which falls on a Sunday this year.

Construction kicked off last summer following a ground-breaking ceremony in July. Because the need is so great, Gov. Brian Sandoval and the 2017 Nevada Legislature approved advanced funding to begin construction.

The 96-bed facility is designed to feel like a home, not at all like a hospital. If you look at each area, the home will be broken down into a house featuring eight private rooms with communal space for a living room, den and country kitchen that will be shared with another household. The combined household will contain 16 residents. The neighborhood is the combined footprint of two “households” with 32 residents. The home will have three neighborhoods.

The new facility will also feature a Town Square or Town Hall, which will serve as a gathering place. It will include a barber shop, beauty salon, sports bar, dining commons, commissary, chapel, coffee bistro, ice cream shop, physical therapy gym and meeting rooms. There will also be a parade ground for ceremonies and other events.

According to the NVDS, state veterans homes fill an important need for low-income veterans and veterans who desire the camaraderie of fellow veterans. Up to 25 percent of the home may be family members of veterans including spouses, surviving spouses and/or Gold Star parents. The remaining 75-percent of the residents will be veterans.