Veterans’ nursing home to be built near Mississippi coast

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) – Construction will begin next year for a new veterans’ nursing home near the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The 100-bed facility will be in the Tradition development north of Gulfport.

News outlets report that the executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, Stacey Pickering, spoke at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday. He said the state has 189,000 veterans and 26% of them live in the three coastal counties.

The closest veterans’ home to the coast is in Collins, about 2 hours away.

Pickering said the state Legislature agreed to provide $16 million from the state to go with a federal grant of $29.3 million to build the center.

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