New Maine Veterans’ Homes facility in Augusta that’ll ‘feel like home’ gets ceremonial groundbreaking
AUGUSTA — Veterans and legislators broke ground Thursday on the future site of Maine Veterans' Homes' Augusta campus, celebrating a residential care facility that they said will feel more like home and less like an institution.
"It's looks like it'll be a great home," said Commander Roger Emmons, of VFW District 8, which encompasses five Kennebec County Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, including Augusta's. "It's something we need. Something that's 50 or 60 years old kind of wears out."
The new $91 million facility will replace the nursing home facility on Cony Road and will be the first small-home facility in Maine. It's expected to open in 2021.
"This is a state-of-the-art facility that's going to bring our veterans into a home that makes them feel like they're in a home with concentrated care because of the small group homes," said Steven J. SanPedro, state commander of the Maine VFW. He serves on the Maine Veterans' Homes board of trustees.
Deb Fournier, chief operations officer for Maine Veterans' Homes, told the Kennebec Journal in January that before designing the complex, officials interviewed residents and families about what they would want in a new facility — private rooms with private baths, along with access to the outdoors and space to be with families.