State VA starts building nursing home for Collier's 28,000 veterans
Patriotism and pride was on full display as leaders from Collier County and the state came together for a groundbreaking ceremony July 10 for a veterans nursing home in Naples.
The location is 23.5 acres at Golden Gate Parkway and Collier Boulevard that the county donated to the state Department of Veterans Affairs for the 120-bed nursing home.
An adult day care center will be built at the site which state VA leaders say is a first and will be a model for other states to replicate for serving their veterans needing long-term care.
Retired Maj. Gen. James Hartsell, executive director of the state VA, spoke about how the Collier community stands out for its commitment to bring the nursing home to reality.
"I've been talking at the local level all across the state, literally from Key West to Pensacola, about what this community, Collier County and Naples, is doing and has done," he said.
The county earmarked $30 million to the state VA to serve as the state's 35% match to draw down $74 million from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the remaining 65% of the cost for construction. In addition, the county donated the land and provided another $10 million for the adult day center.
In 2022 Collier became the site for the next state veterans nursing home. The county's commitment of the money and land secured Collier as a top priority for federal capital funding from the federal VA in the 2025-26 funding cycle.
"You have set a standard, a template, that's going to be very difficult for other parts of Florida to follow," Hartsell said.
"There's been a lot of work and a lot of effort and a lot of wrestling, but with the right people, with the right determination, with heart and the right brains and the right leadership that's on this stage, both in Tallahassee and here locally, it can happen and it's going to happen right here," Hartsell said.
Collier's project is the state's tenth
The Collier nursing home will be the state VA's 10th in the state. There are about 28,000 veterans in the community.
State Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, of Naples, spoke of how Collier County Commissioner Burt Saunders' legacy will be the nursing home project. He has spearheaded it at the local level for several years.
Passidomo secured $10 million from the state Legislature for the project when she served as Senate president for two years through late 2024.
She made a pitch for it to be called something other than a nursing home, and challenged the community to come up with a more fitting name.
"It's a place where veterans can come not just to live but to thrive," she said.
Saunders said he's been waiting eight years for the project to get to groundbreaking with the full backing of the county commission and behind-the-scenes work of county staff.
He pointed out how the $40 million from the county came from the one-cent sales tax surcharge that Collier voters passed in 2018 to fund a variety of projects, including the veterans nursing home. The 2018 surtax has since expired.
He spoke about philanthropy that runs deep in Collier and a mindset to take care of the less fortunate.
"We're blessed to have people in this community that are willing to write checks, roll up their sleeves and work together to make things happen," he said. "And I know that this community will always support this facility."
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a decorated U.S. Army Special Forces combat veteran and Republican candidate for governor, said there was no place else he would rather be for the day than at the event.
"As a nation and as a state, how we treat our veterans and how we choose to stand alongside those who stood for us matters," Collins said. "It doesn't just speak to the moment, it speaks generationally."
He described Florida as the most veteran-friendly state, something that Gov. Ron DeSantis has said about the state.
"We choose to do what's right. That is the Florida model, and that's what our veterans are owed," Collins said.
How will the new VA home in Naples area operate?
The state VA is building the veterans nursing home and will staff it. Completion is targeted for 2028.
The state VA says the design is state of the art and will set a standard for other VA nursing homes in the future nationwide.
Spouses of veterans will be allowed to live in the nursing home.
The 120-bed complex will consist of two "neighborhoods" of 60 beds.
"These neighborhoods will each have their own gazebos and gardens, libraries and computer rooms, and a specialized sensory therapy room known as a Snoezelen room," according to how Sauders' described it one of his newsletters.
The term "Snoezelen" comes from two Dutch words to describe a sensory room for therapeutic relaxation and stimulation, developed in the 1970s by Dutch therapists.
The intent is to provide a non-threatening and controllable space for sensory engagement, offering relaxation, stimulation, and improved communication for individuals who have brain injuries, dementia or other conditions.
The nursing home neighborhoods will be connected to a community center that will feature amenities such as a coffee shop, sports bar, chapel and barbershop.
Saunders also has put together a committee called the "Friends of the Collier County Veterans Nursing Home."
The committee will focus on securing amenities for the project that will make difference in the quality of life for the veteran residents, things that the state or federal government cannot pay for. He cited as examples personal computers and gazebos for outdoor sitting.
What others had to say
About 100 people from the community attended the groundbreaking, with a lot coming from the VFW Post 7721, which held a reception afterward.
State Rep. Yvette Benarroch, a U.S. Air Force veteran, said the nursing home has been needed for a long time as the local veteran community ages and needs long term care.
"This is going to be amazing. We will be the envy of the state," Benarroch said.
J. B. Holmes, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former commander of VFW Post 7721, said: "This is a very, very big day. We have been working on it for years and it's finally coming to fruition."
Mike Knutson, also from the VFW Post 7721 who formerly worked for the federal VA for 32 years, said it's overdue for veterans in the community to have more services than that which has been available through an outpatient clinic.
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Liz Freeman is a health care reporter. Reach her by emailing lfreeman@naplesnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: State VA starts building nursing home for Collier's 28,000 veterans
Reporting by Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 5:31 PM.