The Oregon Veterans’ Home in Lebanon reached full capacity late last month, welcoming its 154th current resident, Robert Rogers, on Sept. 23.
In a unique coincidence, Rogers arrived on the same day OVHL staff, residents and supporters gathered to celebrate the facility’s two-year anniversary.
Also known as the Edward C. Allworth Veterans’ Home, the OVHL opened its doors in the fall of 2014.
Eligibility for the OVHL is an earned benefit offered to veterans, their spouses and Gold Star parents who require nursing home-level care.
“We are very proud of the care at the Oregon Veterans’ Home in Lebanon,” said Cameron Smith, director of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, which operates the home along with a second facility in The Dalles.
“To reach full capacity in just two years of operations is simply phenomenal, and we owe a tremendous debt to our dedicated partners and staff with the Veterans Care Centers of Oregon, as well as our veteran residents and their families, who are really what make the OVHL the place where honor lives.”
Reaching full capacity is a rare achievement in the long-term care field, particularly in Oregon, which has the lowest occupancy rates in the nation for certified nursing facilities.
According to a 2015 report by the Oregon Department of Human Services and Oregon State University, the average occupancy rate for such facilities was 64 percent, and even lower (57 percent) for homes the size of the OVHL.
Rogers, who turned 95 this year, was born in Duluth, Minn., but spent most of his life in Oregon. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, being stationed in Okinawa, Japan, as a medic, which was an interesting post for him since, according to his daughter, he couldn’t stomach the sight of blood.
The OVHL is a state-of-the-art, Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facility designed on the small house model, which emphasizes community, autonomy and a comfortable, deinstitutionalized look and feel.
To learn more, visit http://www.lebanon.oregonveteranshomes.com.