OKLAHOMA CITY — Though Oklahoma is close to opening two new long-term veterans care facilities, the closure of the existing Talihina Veterans Center – before its replacement is open – generated a harsh rebuke from several state lawmakers.
So much, in fact, that even though the state veterans commission voted 5-0 to close the Talihina facility immediately, that decision was pushed back last week, and the facility remains open – for now.
After the Oklahoma Veterans Commission announced the immediate closure of the Talihina center, state Rep. Jim Grego (R-Wilburton) and Sen. Warren Hamilton (R-McCurtain) went public with their anger. Grego issued a terse media statement criticizing the Oklahoma Veterans Commission, noting that in 2022 state veterans’ officials said the center would remain open until a new center at Sallisaw is opened.
“This means 36 families have just 90 days to find a place to care for their loved ones,” Grego said. “This is a disruption and a disgrace to these veterans who faithfully sacrificed and served our nation and to their families who want to keep their loved ones nearby.”
In addition, members of the Oklahoma Senate – including Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City) and Hamilton – met with ODVA officials.
That meeting caused the ODVA to do an about-face.
“It is easy for competing priorities to become confused when the situation is tense and fluid, which this situation clearly is. We must always put our obligation to our veterans first,” Hamilton told The Oklahoman newspaper. “To put it bluntly, we wouldn’t even have this situation to consider were it not for the sacrifice and the service of these great Americans. They didn’t let us down, and we cannot let them down now.”
With the opening of the new Sallisaw facility still 18 months away, closing the Talihina Veterans Center could present problems for both veterans and staff, the lawmakers said.
Like the veterans center it’s replacing, the Sallisaw Veterans Center will be licensed for 175 nursing care beds, said Shawn Kirkland, director of homes for the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.
Kirkland said agency budgeted $77 million for the Sallisaw center. The center was originally projected to open in the summer of 2023, but construction delays have pushed that date back until 2025. The project will be financed with a grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that will pay 65% of the cost, and the state will pay the other 35%, Kirkland said.
A new veterans center at Ardmore will be considerably larger than the existing facility and will accommodate several dozen more veterans. The existing facility encompasses almost 159,000 square feet of space among all of the buildings on the campus. The new center will have approximately 250,000 square feet of space, Kirkland said.
Both centers are licensed for 175 beds.
The original buildings of the center were constructed in 1910 as a home for Civil War veterans of the Confederacy. It became a state veterans center in 1949.
Grego said he contacted Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office and has been in contact with the ODVA. Grego said veterans can be placed into private care, but questions remain over who would be responsible for payment.
“This has proven to be a disaster,” he said. “Our Veterans Commission and the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs should be focused solely on taking care of our veterans and their family members, but this latest move fails them.”
Mike W. Ray contributed to this report.