Governor Quinn Announces $6.5 Million For Renovations at Quincy Veterans' Home

QUINCY – January 23, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today announced funding for renovations that will improve the lives of residents at the Quincy Veterans’ Home, the state’s oldest and largest permanent care facility for veterans. The $6.46 million project includes replacement of a cooling system and the renovation of infirmary buildings.

“Our veterans’ deserve the best facilities we have to offer,” said Governor Quinn. “I am proud to announce this funding that will help the Quincy Veterans’ Home continue to meet our veteran’s needs and improve the quality of their lives.”

The funding is part of Illinois Jobs Now!, a job generation and capital improvement program that will revive the state’s ailing economy by creating and retaining over 439,000 jobs over six years. The plan includes $5.4 million to replace a chiller plant which cools the Kent, Schapers and Elmore infirmaries. The remaining $1 million will be used to renovate the three buildings.

The Quincy Veterans’ Home is the oldest and largest of the four veterans’ homes operated statewide by the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA). More than 400 residents from 70 of the state’s 102 counties reside at the Quincy Veterans’ Home, which opened in 1886.

“We are grateful that during difficult economic times, Governor Quinn has continued to make the care of veterans a priority,” said IDVA Director Dan Grant. “Quincy is our oldest and largest home, and it is critical that we make essential improvements that benefit our residents, keep them safe and offer them the highest quality of care.”

Quincy Veterans’ Home, often called a “city within the city,” is comprised of more than 40 buildings and sits on 210 acres on the northern edge of Quincy. The facility is equipped with its own post office, bank, assembly hall, guest house, chapel, cemetery, lake, animal park, museum and several military-related historical sites.

The home also offers health care ranging from domiciliary to skilled nursing care and two Alzheimer’s units. Three full-time physicians, a nurse practitioner, and over 270 registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and veteran nursing assistants-certified provide care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Other IDVA-operated veterans’ homes are located in Anna, LaSalle and Manteno. Construction on a fifth veterans’ home is scheduled to begin in 2010. For more information please visit veterans.illinois.gov.