New veterans home on track to open late fall

OKLAHOMA CITY – A new veterans home is on its way in Sallisaw.

The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to open the 175-bed home in late fall. It will replace the home in Talihina, which closed in October.

Sallisaw’s opening will take the state to seven operational veterans homes. The others are in Ardmore, Claremore, Clinton, Lawton, Norman and Sulphur.

Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Greg Slavonic oversaw progress on the Sallisaw home and the closure of Talihina’s home during his 15-month employment with the agency.

He said the projected opening date is late November or early December, if everything stays on track. The Sallisaw home is about 80% complete, he said, and IT installation has begun.

“I’ve been very happy with how everyone has worked together, the Flintco team, our team, in pulling together and making sure that we’ve got a good relationship, and we’re all pulling on the same end of the rope with the objective of getting that home opened as soon as possible.”

Furniture will be moved in during August, Construction Programs Administrator Nisha Young said during a June 10 Oklahoma Veterans Commission meeting.

To open, Slavonic said 20 veterans will move into the home to prove competence of staff and efficiency of the facility to the federal VA. It would then evaluate the home on a pass/fail standard.

If the home does not pass inspection, Slavonic said it would likely be a quick fix.

“If we fail, it’s not going to be a life threatening [situation] the way I’m told by my deputy, who has been in constant communication with other homes [that] have gone through this process,” Slavonic said. “So it’s not going to be a life threatening situation. It’s probably going to be something technical or some procedural thing that we’re not doing that needs to be corrected.”

Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs Director of Homes Rob Arrington said he estimates admission will be open to all veterans at the end of the year or beginning of 2025.

Originally, Slavonic said the plan was to have the Talihina home’s closure coincide with the Sallisaw home’s opening. However, because of engineering and design changes, he said that timeline was not achieved.

Talihina’s closure left 36 veterans displaced. They were given the choice to move to any of the other six operational homes, and will have “right of first refusal” at the Sallisaw home, Slavonic said.

A few months after he began serving as executive director, Slavonic learned it would cost $500,000 per month to keep the 600-acre home’s doors open.

That wasn’t a cost Slavonic was willing to pay.

“… I just didn’t feel [it] was the best use of taxpayers dollars,” Slavonic said. “So [it] just made sense to close it early and try to save some of that money, given that we were having some challenges with, our budget to begin with.”

Samantha Shoecrast, director and event coordinator for the Talihina Chamber of Commerce, said she hopes the property could bring jobs to help with Talihina’s “lack of employment.”

“It would be awesome if we could get, like, some more jobs available for Talihina, like anything that might host some jobs for the Talihina, you know, locals.”

Talihina has a population of 2,215 residents and a 39.5% employment rate, according to 2020 census data.

Shoecrast has not heard about any plans for the property.

When the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations learned the land was no longer being used, they requested it be reverted back. The nations donated the land to the state to become a tuberculosis sanatorium, which opened in 1921. It later became a veterans home.

The nations did not respond to requests for comment.

Now, the state is looking into selling the property. Slavonic said it is valued at $5.6 million.

The Talihina home property is on the market, Slavonic said, but there are not any formal bids. He said the hope is to have the property sold by winter to avoid extra operating costs, such as heat and water.

Christina Helfrey, spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, said in a statement that the agency is working with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs on what the property’s future will be.

“We are looking into the tribes’ rights and exploring ways to work together for the betterment of all Oklahomans,” Helfrey said.

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