VET-CARE FACILITY FILLING UP

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 12, 1993                   TAG: 9303120084
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
VET-CARE FACILITY FILLING UP
After five months of operation, the Virginia Veterans Care Center has filled 64 of its 240 beds, administrator Brett Elmer said Thursday.
"We are pretty much on schedule," said Elmer.
When the $15.3 million state-owned facility was dedicated last Veterans Day, Nov. 11, state officials said they hoped to fill all the beds within a year.
With a combination of marketing and word-of-mouth, Elmer said he is optimistic the target date can be met.
The fact that the center is the only long-term care facility that serves Virginia veterans has made it attractive to many, Elmer said.
"For the retirees that have been in the military all their lives, that is a good selling point," he said.
Another incentive is a federal veterans subsidy that offsets the daily room and board costs of $87 for nursing patients and $50 per day for residents who live at the center but do not require skilled nursing care.
That subsidy is $25.35 daily for nursing care patients and $10.83 daily for domiciliary patients.
Of the 64 patients in residence, 45 are in the nursing home section and 19 are in the domiciliary care unit.
Elmer said officials are embarking upon a statewide marketing campaign using radio to advertise the center. Staff members also routinely deliver presentations on the home to veterans' organizations around the state.
To be eligible for admissions, applicants must be former active-duty members of the armed forces. They must have been residents of Virginia at the time of entry into service, or lived in the state for at least 12 months prior to making application.
Diversified Health Services Inc., a private Pennsylvania-based company, is under contract from the state to manage the center. The three-story facility is on 20 acres in Roanoke County adjacent to the Salem Veterans Administration Medical Center.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB