VETERANS
VA
The Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans’ Nursing Home in St. Augustine matches
architecture in the surrounding area.
Roy Brewer, vice president of United Veterans of St. Lucie
County, calls it “a blessing for all veterans and their families.”
Once the location was assured, the next step was to find a
name, says Wayne Teegardin. Choices had to be from a list of
recipients of the Medal of Honor. He looked, and there was
one on the list from Fort Pierce. Preference was to be given to
a person from the Treasure Coast.
Spc. 4 Ardie Ray Copas died in Cambodia in 1970 while
four wounded American soldiers were evacuated during
an enemy ambush. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in
March 2014.
In November, the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs
agreed with the supporters for Copas and named the new
nursing home the Ardie R. Copas State Veterans’ Nursing
Home.
His daughter, Shyrell Copas-Herrera, is thrilled. “I never
knew him,” she says. “I was six months old when he died. He
was a very loving person — he was a people person. I am so
ecstatic, so happy, so honored that his name was chosen that
words can’t explain.”
Her mother, Betsy, was 17 when she married Copas. She
and Shyrell were at the state Cabinet meeting on Jan. 13
when the name choice was announced to Gov. Rick Scott
and his Cabinet. Shyrell made a short, emotional speech
explaining that nursing homes were very dear to her heart
because of a childhood experience when she sang at one.
She said the choice of adding his name to a veterans nursing
home was ideal.
The new facility will provide skilled nursing services; a
beauty and barber shop; a room for woodworking, hobbies and
crafts; a coffee shop; a dining room; a kitchen and a laundry.
There is a timetable for hiring, says Steve Murray,
communications director for the Florida Department
of Veterans’ Affairs. “About 9 months from completion
we will start looking for the top people like the home’s
administrator,” he says. Other jobs will be filled closer to
opening day. E
10 Port St. Lucie Magazine
ARDIE R. COPAS
STATE VETERANS’ NURSING HOME
A skilled nursing facility for veterans
Location: SW Tradition Parkway across from Brennity at
Tradition in Port St. Lucie
Property size: 28.5 acres donated to St. Lucie County by
the Tradition Land Co.
The land will be given to the state.
Size of building: Not determined
Beds: 120 minimum, could be 128. Half the beds will be
for dementia/Alzheimer’s patients. It is the first state nursing
home with all private rooms.
Floors: 1
Staff jobs: 190
Annual operating budget: About $7 million
Construction Manager: OHL-Arellano of Miami
Architect: RLF (Rogers, Lovelock and Fitz) Architects of
Orlando
Design: Still in the planning stages
Groundbreaking: Late 2015
Completion: estimated late 2017, early 2018
Cost: Estimated $35 million
Funding: 65 percent federal; 35 percent state
Closest veterans nursing homes: Daytona Beach, 149
miles to the north and Pembroke Pines, 100 miles to the
south. With the addition of Port St. Lucie, there will be
seven veterans nursing homes in Florida.
Area covered: a 75-mile radius around St. Lucie County,
with more than 200,000 veterans.
Services: Skilled nursing, meals in dining room or room,
physical therapy (contracted out), library, barber and beauty
shop, hobby and crafts room. Nursing-home-owned pets
— dogs, cats, birds, fish — are under consideration.
Questions? Families who want to find out more about the
nursing home may call Wayne Teegardin at 772.337.5670.
TIMELINE
Feb. 2014: St. Lucie notified by state that it could apply to
become the state’s seventh veterans nursing home location.
May 2014: Sent in application
June and July 2014: Site selection committee visited locations
that had applied.
Sept. 2014: Notified that St. Lucie was chosen as the top site.
Sept. 23, 2015: St. Lucie County named as site by governor
and Cabinet
Nov. 2014: Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs named
the nursing home after Ardie R. Copas, a Fort Pierce resident
who died at the age of 19 in Cambodia during the
Vietnam War.
Jan. 13, 2015: Name announced to governor and Cabinet.