Public hearings by the Joint Select Committee on Veterans Affairs were held across the state in the fall of 1985 to identify the concerns of Tennessee’s veterans. Long term health care was clearly a priority concern and the Tennessee Department of Veteran Services (formerly Tennessee Department of Veteran Affairs) recommended that a system of State Veterans Homes be established.
The governing body for the Tennessee State Veterans Homes is the Tennessee State Veterans Homes Board with responsibility for oversight of the day–to–day management and operations vested in the Executive Committee of the Board. Members of the Board are appointed by the Governor to serve a 3–year term. The Executive Committee exercises its authority for planning, implementation and operation of the State Veterans’ Homes through the Executive Director and his or her staff. Administrators at each facility are responsible for the day–to–day operation of the facilities.
The first home opened in Murfreesboro on June 10, 1991. Located on a seven acre lot, deeded to the Board by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, adjacent to the Alvin C. York V.A. Medical Center, this is a 140 bed facility offering intermediate and skilled levels of nursing care in a one–story building encompassing 69,278 square feet.
Legislation passed by the General Assembly in 1993 provided for construction of a second facility in Humboldt, Tennessee. Also a 140 bed facility offering intermediate and skilled levels of nursing care, this one–story building encompassing some 74,870 square feet opened February 7, 1996. The third home in Knox County opened in December 2006. This 140 bed facility, offers intermediate and skilled levels of nursing care in a spacious 73,065 square foot, one–story building. The fourth home in Clarksville, TN. Clarksville is a 108 bed facility offering intermediate and skilled levels of nursing care, this one–story building encompassing some 103,000 square feet, with all private rooms, opened January 11, 2016. In all of the facilities, TSVH is equipped to handle those with Alzheimer’s and dementia.