SANDUSKY, Ohio — Ohio’s Veterans Homes first started in the late 1800s. Sean McCarthy, the assistant director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services, explained why the homes were started.

What You Need To Know

  • Vietnam-era veterans will cause an increase in the need of veterans nursing home care soon

  • Ohio Veterans Homes have two locations that will be modernizing to help the increased need

  • The goal is to fill nursing vacancies and build more rooms

“It’s a promise that the people of the state of Ohio made to the veterans returning for the Civil War to create an opportunity for people to be cared for in need for the rest of their lives,” he said.

McCarthy explained the upcoming increase of Vietnam-era veterans needing care.

“There’s going to be a fairly steady need over the next 30, 40, 50 years for the veterans in Ohio for long-term care,” he said.

The Sandusky and Georgetown Ohio Veterans Homes are undergoing modernization to help make room for the new veterans who will need care. McCarthy explained that the goal is to make the rooms single occupancy.

“We’re going to do that in part by building this new 128-bed facility,” he said.

The Department of Veterans Services also got the approval to spend over $5 million to hire more nurses from staffing agencies to help fill vacancies at the Sandusky and Georgetown homes. McCarthy said he’s really excited about the opportunity to create a better standard of living for veterans.

“They’re the people that we can rely on at work. They’re the neighbors that we can trust, they’re the people who coach our little league. They make great employees, they make great friends and we want to make sure that Ohio is the kind of place that they want to come to,” he said.