Independence, comfort for RI’s vets

New state-of-the-art veterans home nearing completion in Bristol

By Patrick Luce
Posted 7/27/17

Cramped rooms with two, sometimes three people living inside. An aging facility lacking the modern conveniences most take for grated. Structured meal times requiring residents to be ready to eat at …

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Independence, comfort for RI’s vets

New state-of-the-art veterans home nearing completion in Bristol

Posted

Cramped rooms with two, sometimes three people living inside. An aging facility lacking the modern conveniences most take for grated. Structured meal times requiring residents to be ready to eat at specific times every day.

Such a situation is what one might expect at a busy city hospital or antiquated nursing home. It is probably not how one would expect those who have fought and suffered for America’s freedom to live out their days.

Soon, Rhode Island’s veterans will no longer have to.

The new Rhode Island Veterans Home off Metacom Avenue is in its final stages ahead of the expected October completion date. Nearly 200 veterans are expected to move into the state-of-the-art, $120 million facility in November, according to Gen. Rick Baccus, administrator of the Veterans Home, the new version of which looks less like a medical facility, and more like a typical New England residential community, and that’s by design.

“We’re all living longer, and a lot of us are living along longer,” Gen. Baccus said, noting the average resident’s age is 90. “These services need to be available for those who can’t do that anymore.”

The six buildings, or “neighborhoods,” that make up the community are connected by a central artery, sort of like a Main Street connecting different areas of a village in one meeting point. The Commons resembles a village center with a barber shop, physical therapy officer and other shops and facilities one might expect to find in any downtown.
“All the buildings are connected to the Commons,” Gen. Baccus said. “You’ll be able to leave your building and walk down Main Street. Even though you live in one building, you don’t have to stay there. You can go out.”

Such added freedom and independence are among the chief goals of the new home, Gen. Baccus said. Each building is divided into two cottages housing 16 residents. Each cottage has a central kitchen with every modern amenity, a dining area, living room with fireplace, a small library and den, and a landscaped courtyard. Residents are free to hang out if their own neighborhood, or walk down Main Street to other areas of the facility. Meal times won’t be as structured as they are in the current home, allowing residents more choice in when they head to the dining room. And the best part?

“They’re very excited they don’t have to have a roommate,” Gen. Baccus said, noting some rooms in the current facility house up to three people. “They’ll have more say in what they’re doing. If you worked your whole life working third shift, you’re not necessarily going to go to bed at 8 or get up at 6. We want to be able to accommodate that lifestyle. It’s a different philosophy of providing care. This facility allows us to do that.”

Each private, 120 square-foot bedroom is equipped with a wardrobe, dresser, end tables, over-the-bed table, recliner and a 36-inch, cable-ready TV with DVD player. Each has a private bathroom and some are designed to accommodate a lift system, should one be necessary to help a non-ambulatory resident move around. The private rooms are about the same size as the rooms that currently hold up to three residents, giving the veterans much more space to live. The new, 265,000 square-foot facility is more than double the current home.

And it’s not just the residents who will benefit from the modern facility. Staff members will also have more room to care for their patients. A nursing station housing three nurses and five CNAs is in each neighborhood. There is also one doctor, physical therapist and recreation director for every two buildings.

The new home, paid for by $60 million in federal funds, matched by $60 million in state funds approved by a statewide referendum in 2012, has an expected lifespan of about 75 years. Built by Gilbane Construction, it will house up to 208 people — 192 nursing home beds along with 16 dormitory rooms for those who are able to maintain a greater level of independence. Currently, almost the same number of people — 184 — live in a facility half the size.

The current home, which was built in phases in 1950 and 1976, will be torn down soon after the residents move into the new facility, General Baccus said. The main entrance on Metacom Avenue will be lined with trees leading to the Commons, which incorporates a replica of the historic light tower on the property. The tower itself — built in 1890 when the original veterans home was constructed, has been moved to a prominent spot at the front of the property, clearly visible to motorists passing by on Metacom Avenue.

“They went out of their way to make sure it was a New England style facility,” Gen. Baccus said. “It’s going to look like the old aesthetic.”

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