WARREN — A group of advocates for northeast Ohio veterans is pushing the state government to open at least two new state-run nursing homes for veterans, especially one in the northeastern part of the state.

Presidents of veterans service commissions in nine northeast Ohio counties, including Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana, have penned a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine saying some Ohio veterans are “geographically underserved” by the two veterans homes in the state. Ohio now operates two such facilities: the historic Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky, built in the late 19th century to serve the state’s Civil War veterans, and the facility in Georgetown in southwest Ohio.

“Northeast Ohio is home to over 200,000 veterans, making it the largest veteran populated region in the state,” the letter states. “On average, most veterans in northeast and central Ohio are more than 100 miles from their nearest veterans’ home facility.”

According to Herm Breuer, executive director of Trumbull County Veterans Services, a capital outlay for a new facility could be subsidized by the federal government.

The money is there as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs supported requests for funding of new construction of 19 state veterans homes from 13 states in 2019.

“The trick of this equation is that it will take state money to operate these homes and find the medical staff to serve the residents,” Breuer said.

This is where a recent legislative act that allows a portion of the proceeds from state sports betting offers hope, Breuer said.

“Let’s hope that the gambling money can be put to good use,” he said.

A recent news release from a group monitoring sports betting, named Play Ohio, has estimated the veterans services could get as much as $350,000 in gambling revenue over the next five years.

Susan Krawchyk, executive director of the Mahoning County Veterans Services Office, said her office participated in discussions with the other veterans advocacy groups about building a new home closer to Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

“More veterans that I have talked to would choose to live at a veterans home if it were closer to us,” Krawchyk said. “Family members would be closer to the veteran to visit regularly, and we all hope to see this dream become a reality.

“Now is the time to take care of our aging veterans in their final years of life. We owe it to them and their families. ”

‘A TRAVESTY’

The letter to DeWine states it is “a travesty’ that Ohio finds itself in the situation where it has been categorized nationally as in “significant need” for veterans homes.

The Sandusky facility has 427 beds, while Georgetown is a 168-bed home.

The advocates in their letter ask for construction of two new homes, including one to serve central Ohio, that provide nursing home care, domiciliary care and adult day health care under one roof.

Breuer said a 2019 state study showed the ideal situation would be 10 smaller facilities in the state, including ones that could provide “adult day care” for those wanting to keep a parent or grandparent at home, but can send them somewhere while they are at work.

Both Breuer and the letter point out that there are land parcels within the region that are owned by the state that could be “a convenient location as well as being cost effective” for a new home — such as the area near the Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown and land near Camp Garfield in Paris Township, both in Portage County.

HOUSE TESTIMONY

Last week a member of DeWine’s cabinet, Deborah Ashenhurst, director of the Ohio Department of Veteran Services, testified before the Ohio House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committee, citing the need for additional veterans homes. She made almost the same statements last month before the House Finance Subcommittee on Transportation.

Ashenhurst, in response to state Rep. Adam Miller, D-Columbus, acknowledged the state isn’t meeting the needs of “the veteran community and their families in particular” by not having homes in higher density, urban areas. Ashenhurst said she understands why the two existing homes were placed in low population areas, one reason being it could be hard to compete for medical workers if homes were closer to large hospital systems.

“But many people don’t want to put a family member where they can’t visit them frequently,” she said.

The advocates, which also include representatives from Ashtabula, Geauga, Portage, Lake, Medina and Stark counties, in concluding their letter to DeWine state they hope budgetary concerns or manpower problems should not be the priority when considering two new veterans homes in Ohio.

“While it may be too little too late for veterans of World War II and maybe even the Korean War, there is still time to support and assist the veterans of the Vietnam War and Persian Gulf with a project like this,” the letter concludes.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com