February 2026
The MVH team was fortunate recently to join in on celebrating the 100th birthday of one of our WWII veterans alongside his loving family, earlier in January. When he joined this world, Calvin Coolidge was president, a new house cost around $6,800, and the world population was about 2 billion - around 6 billion less than it is today. A lot has changed in the past century, though one-hundred years ago on the MVH at Grand Rapids campus you'd have still found a dedicated team of staff, volunteers, and supporters caring for those who've served our nation. We're proud of that, and our history of caring for heroes.
We're immensely grateful to have celebrated the one-hundred year mark with our special veteran, and just so grateful to be able to fulfill our special mission alongside veterans' families, friends, and our broader community of supporters. Happy Birthday!
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Michigan Veteran Homes has been fortunate for many things over the years, and certainly one of those is the leadership provided by MaryAnne Shannon via service on our board. Indeed, Ms. Shannon - one of the initial appointments to the Board of Directors, following a statutory change that shifted the oversight of MVH and model of governance to the Michigan Veterans' Facility Authority - has served since the new Board's inception in 2017. A veteran and a professor of nursing with a terminal degree, her leadership and service started in a time of extreme challenges in our veterans homes, and in less than a decade has now seen MVH replace the home in Grand Rapids, build anew in Chesterfield Twp., and is currently replacing the home in the U.P., all while modernizing care, achieving certification by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and earning 5-star ratings from CMS.
Ms. Shannon's leadership, service, guidance, and dedication to our Homes and our veterans have been invaluable to our growth as an organization, and we wish her well on her next chapter. MaryAnne - thank you for your service to Michigan veterans and their loved ones.
When one walks into one of our MVH facilities, they see nursing home care and services being delivered to veterans, alongside the quality of life experience those veterans earned, and deserve. What they do not see at first glance in just one home, is the network of 175 State Veterans Homes across the nation providing the lion's share of long-term care and services to veterans across our nation: more long-term care beds than VA Community Living Centers, and more than community nursing homes with contracts with the VA. Because of this, members of congress often take interest in the work we're doing here in Michigan, and the work State Veterans Homes are doing across the nation.
Recently, Senator Crapo (ID) and Senator King (ME) introduced S. 3532 - the State Veterans Home Inspection Simplification Act in an effort to create efficiencies and compel coordination in the inspection (survey) process of State Veterans Homes that are inspected by both the federal VA and CMS separately, though according to nearly identical regulations. The bill - endorsed by the American Health Care Association - currently has six cosponsors in the Senate.
Additionally, back in March 2025, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks (IA) and Congressman Chris Pappas (NH) introduced H.R. 1970 - the Providing Veterans Essential Medications Act in an effort to ensure State Veterans Homes can be reimbursed for exorbitantly high-cost medications for highly disabled veterans. In certain situations, the reimbursement methodology for highly disabled veterans in State Veterans Homes can be problematic for those veterans with extremely high-cost medications, burdening States and State Veterans Homes with costs not accounted for. While such medications are covered at VA Community Living Centers and community nursing homes with VA contracts, they are not reimbursable for State Veterans Homes. The bill - endorsed by the DAV, American Legion, and National Assoc. of State Directors of Veterans Affairs - currently has forty-one cosponsors.
Our veteran homes here in Michigan have been caring for veterans continuously since 1886. When Michigan opened its 2nd veterans home in Marquette (Jacobetti) in 1981, the veteran population in the State was north of 1.13M, while today that veteran population in Michigan is estimated to be somewhere just above 473,000. So, while a lot has changed over the years, we're still proud to serve those who've served us.
While we won't look back on a century's worth of data here, let's briefly look back on fiscal year 2025. During that time period, MVH was proud to care for 481 individuals: 467 veterans and 14 veteran spouses. When summarized, this yielded the provision of 127,754 days of care proudly provided by our team. Of those veterans served, 336 were from the Vietnam era, 61 from 'other eras', 43 from the Korean War era, 16 from the Gulf War era, and 11 from the World War II era.
Michigan Veteran Homes - and other State Veterans Homes around the nation - are just one option when a veteran needs nursing home level care. We are, of course, a little biased, though also incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve our veterans, and we're looking forward to a great 2026 alongside our veterans, and our communities of supporters.
The Wreaths Across America event hosted by a local nonprofit at our MVHGR cemetery every December gets quite a bit of attention, as hundreds of community members turn out to place wreaths on the final resting places of our veterans. The clean-up of those wreaths is a necessity that generally gets much less attention, but is a task of great importance nonetheless. That clean-up occurred in January with a small, core group of dedicated volunteers - led by Sean Murphy with the Fifth Third Bank Military Resource Group - who showed up to ensure the work got done. The team from Sunbelt Rentals brought dump trailers, and (most of) the work got done before the grounds were (again) blanketed in snow. We're grateful for the many individuals and organizations who support our mission and our veterans through the seasons - and for the team that showed up to get this done - thank you, friends!
Every year it seems to grow, and we anticipate that to continue in 2026. On June 6th, staff, volunteers, families, friends, community partners, and other supporters from Southeast Michigan (and beyond) will convene on the MVH at Chesterfield Twp. campus - joining our veterans - for the Home's annual walk, run & roll event. The morning brings community together for fun, exercise, and celebrating the service of our veterans. All proceeds raised from the event are deposited in the Home's Charitable Support Fund, supporting our veterans. Registration will open later this spring, while sponsorships and silent auction items are currently being sought. If you or your organization are interested in sponsorship and/or donating items for the silent auction, contact Hilary Kuretich at KuretichH@michigan.gov. We hope you can join us for what always turns out to be an amazing event. Save the date! And check out some of the photos from last year, by clicking here.
This year will mark 45 years of caring for veterans at the Jacobetti, in Marquette. As we celebrate that milestone, we're simultaneously excited for the ongoing progress at the new MVH D.J. Jacobetti being constructed on a 38-acre site in Marquette Township. The new home is the culmination of effective collaboration - collaboration to benefit veterans - and we're ecstatic to soon be 'new neighbors' in the Township. There've been several questions about pathways and the safe routes to school, and how such routes will work with the new building and the rerouting of Venture Drive. And, being good neighbors, we thought we'd share.
As seen in the image above, the new Jacobetti will have three 'neighborhoods' - all interconnected - with each 'neighborhood' being composed of two 'households.' Each 'household' will have sixteen private bed/private bath rooms. The 'neighborhoods' are represented in the image above, generally in areas 1, 3, and 5. Below area 4, one can see the new roundabout. For students traveling to school and other general public pedestrian traffic, one can also see in the image above the future paths of travel. The short blue line near Area 4 above is six-foot wide asphalt north of the new roundabout, which will connect moving west to a six-foot concrete sidewalk curving around the south end of the Home (represented in green, above). Finally, that sidewalk will connect on the west side of the new Home to an eight-foot asphalt pathway (represented in purple, above) that connects toward Wright street, nearer where Venture Drive previously connected to Wright. Because there've been a few questions, we wanted to continue to ensure community members stay informed on this project. If you or your organization has questions about the new Jacobetti, feel free to reach out to us at DMVA-MVHgiving@michigan.gov, or check out our FAQs online.
Late in December, MVH at Chesterfield Twp. had the blessing of taking some of our veterans out for dinner at the Marine City Fish Company. The feastful evening was coordinated by Mike Roush and Tim Schwark, while Steve Grosso Trucking generously funded the delicious fish dinner. Thanks to all - including our friends at Marine City Fish Company - who made this a great evening for our vets.
We do more at Michigan Veteran Homes, thanks to our many donors, volunteers, and community partners who believe in our mission. Alongside and in partnership with our community of supporters, we're changing the lives of Michigan veterans for the better. Join us.
Each of our Homes are fortunate to do more for veterans due to the generosity of the communities that support and surround them. Indeed, Michigan Veteran Homes aren't just nursing homes for veterans. They're much more than that, thanks to our compassionate staff, incredible volunteers, and the many individuals and organizations we're blessed to have supporting our mission and our veterans.
If you or your organization are looking for potential opportunities to 'plug in' at one of our Homes this year, the opportunities are plentiful, and you should contact the Home prior to confirm occurrence and coordinate any support or involvement. Some of the more community-facing events are listed below, with links to photos of last year's event(s). Check them out!
- MVH D.J. Jacobetti
- MVH at Chesterfield Township
- MVH at Grand Rapids
If you're interested in supporting, sponsoring, or otherwise attending one of these - or other events - reach out to the Home directly or contact us at DMVA-MVHgiving@michigan.gov. On behalf of all of us at MVH, THANK YOU for making a difference in the lives of our veterans.
*Note: While MVH is honored to have the veterans interred at our cemetery honored and remembered, Wreaths Across America is not an MVH event, and is instead hosted by one or more community organizations at the MVH cemetery.
Donations to Michigan Veteran Homes are tax-deductible under 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Michigan Veteran Homes are making a difference in the lives of Michigan veterans and their loved ones. Join us.
Want to learn more about participating in the representative democracy our veterans stood to protect? Visit the Michigan Voter Information Center.
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