With flags waving above the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s newest long-term care facility, veterans, state leaders and community members recently gathered in the Tradition community to celebrate the opening of the Vito J. Canizaro Veterans Home.
The $65 million, 133,000-square-foot facility officially opened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 11. It’s the first Mississippi State Veterans Home to open since 1997 — and the first located on the coast, where nearly 35% of the state’s 183,000 veterans live in just three counties, according to Mississippi Veterans Affairs Director Mark Smith.
Until now, the closest public long-term care option for veterans in this part of the state was in Collins, about an hour and 15 minutes away from the Tradition community. Smith said the new location is expected to make a meaningful difference for both veterans and their families.
“If a family lives here in Ocean Springs, and their family member is in Collins, that’s pretty good distance to go,” Smith said. “Hopefully by putting it here, they will get more regular visits from the family, which also helps their mental health … because a lot of them are here because the family just does not have the ability to take care of them.”
Bringing care closer to home
The Canizaro home will serve 100 veterans in private, single-occupancy rooms — a major shift from the double-occupancy model used in the state’s four other veterans homes.
The hurricane-ready facility includes three residential wings, each divided into smaller “neighborhoods,” and features a secure memory care unit for veterans with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Designed to feel less like an institution and more like a home, the facility nearly doubles the square footage of its predecessors.
Lois Hendrickson, a retired U.S. Navy health technician and member of the American Legion, said the facility meets a long-standing need for veterans living along the Gulf Coast.
“We’re so happy to have this home down here in Tradition near the Gulf Coast, where we have more access to it — a lot more people can be taken care of,” said Hendrickson, the home’s piney wood line expanding behind her. “If you are in need of these types of care, if you can’t keep up with the house by yourself … these facilities offer everything you need.”
Residents will have access to a variety of services, including physical and speech therapy as well as personalized activity programming. Nurse consultant Kathy Pack said the facility is structured to reduce the need for off-site visits whenever possible.
“We’ll have podiatry come in. We’ll have their eyes checked. We’ll transfer them to any appointments they need to go to, like dialysis, doctor’s appointments and the (Veterans Affairs hospital) appointments,” Pack said.
Who qualifies and how to apply
To qualify for admission, veterans must have served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and not have been dishonorably discharged, with proof provided via Form DD 214 or an equivalent report of separation. Spouses may qualify if their veteran spouse is currently a resident of a Mississippi State Veterans home.
Applicants must be current or former Mississippi residents (non-residents may be admitted if no resident is waiting) and have a medical exam within 30 days of admission showing they have no communicable diseases, do not require care beyond the facility’s capabilities and pose no danger to themselves or others.
The home is expected to begin accepting residents later this summer, pending federal inspection. Veterans currently living in other state homes with ties to the coast will be given transfer priority.
The facility is named in honor of Dr. Vito Joseph “V.J.” Canizaro (1906–1954), a decorated military surgeon from Vicksburg. Canizaro served in the South Pacific theater during World War II and was wounded in New Georgia, earning the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and other honors for bravery.
After the war, he moved to Biloxi, where he founded Canizaro’s Clinic and the High Life Distributing Company.
Building workforce, reducing costs
The Canizaro home is expected to create more than 200 jobs, many of them in nursing. Mississippi Veterans Affairs Director of Communications Ray Coleman said the decision to build in Tradition opens the door for future staffing partnerships with nearby institutions like William Carey University and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
“It’s no secret that when we built there, there were already colleges and universities there, some of them specializing in nursing. We understood that that was going to be a lifeline for us, when maybe we can partner with them and get future staff that can help care for these veterans,” Coleman said. “Anytime you talk about opening up any type of medical facility, it’s always going to be the amount of medical staff that you can keep in that facility … and, as a state agency, we honestly can’t compete dollar for dollar with a private institution — private hospitals, private long-term care, they’re always going to be able to offer more money in salaries.”
Coleman said the Canizaro home was designed to modern standards while remaining affordable — operating at roughly half the cost of private long-term care. Daily expenses are partially reimbursed by the VA based on a veteran’s disability rating.
A call to connect
While the facility has yet to open to residents, local support is already taking shape. The Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, Gulf Coast Chapter 44-1, has donated funds to furnish outdoor spaces with benches and cornhole boards. Chapter Secretary Shawn “Booger” Fellows, who served 23 years with the Navy Seabees, said the group is committed to helping make the space feel like home.
“(The Canizaro home) is beautiful, it’s state-of-the-art … but they’ve got this beautiful library with no books,” Fellows said. “Maybe, this next go round with our next pot of money, we can outfit them with some books — it’s just kind of bare right now.”
Fellows said the new location makes it easier for groups like his to maintain an ongoing relationship with residents.
“We’re hoping for a long, close relationship with the folks up there, and I’m sure it will be, because before Tradition, we’d to go all the way up to Collins, and so we would ride all the way up there, and sometimes, we’d just hang out with them,” Fellows said. “We’ll bring the motorcycles up there, and we’ll let them sit on it and rev them up and stuff like that, and just have lunch with them… (the home) is going to make life a lot easier for them, and an outlet to do some of the good stuff that our guys want to do, because it’s in their heart to help these guys.”
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, state Secretary of Veterans Affairs Douglas Collins encouraged Mississippi communities to continue building relationships with veterans — not just systems of care.
“One of the very core values of being in the military is you leave no person behind. Well, that should apply to our communities as well. For those who may not put on the uniform — how about those (veterans) that may need help with something in their life? It may be hot food, it may be shelter, it may be just somebody to listen to. I encourage our communities around here to start taking an interest … a friend is somebody who you can talk to, have a cup of coffee with and interact. We’ve got to have more of that.”
*All photos by RHCJC News
