Governor Glenn Youngkin Celebrates Grand Opening of New Puller Veterans Care Center in Fauquier County

RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin today joined local, state, and federal leaders to celebrate the grand opening of the new Puller Veterans Care Center (PVCC) in Warrenton – a state-of-the-art facility built to serve Virginia veterans in need of long-term care, memory care, and short-term rehabilitation care in Northern Virginia and throughout the Commonwealth.

“Our veterans had our backs and it is incumbent on us to always have theirs. Ensuring they get the care they need is the least we can do to honor their selfless service and sacrifice. The opening of the Puller Veterans Care Center (PVCC) will go a long way to making sure we honor that commitment. Our person-centered approach will ensure exceptional quality of life and world-class care for Warrenton-area veterans right now and for generations to come,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.

“The opening of the Puller Veterans Care Center reflects the Commonwealth’s ongoing commitment to ensuring veterans have access to a safe, home-like environment where they can continue to thrive,” said Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Craig Crenshaw.

“Fauquier County and the Vint Hill Economic Development Authority are honored to have donated the land and to be the home for this amazing facility. With its grand opening, the former Vint Hill Farms Station is once again ready to serve those who answered the call to duty. We are proud to have it as part of our community,” noted Ike Broaddus, Supervisor, Fauquier County.

“We have had an amazing welcome from the local community, and as we admit more residents and hire more team members, we look forward to being an even more integral part of this amazing community,” noted Brock Bakos, PVCC Administrator.

“I was so pleased to meet the first two residents of the Puller Veterans Care Center today, both fellow Army veterans who deserve outstanding care in this next phase of life,” said Senator Bryce Reeves. “This care center is the fourth of its kind in Virginia and I am proud that the Commonwealth continues to lead the effort in providing outstanding service and support to its veterans.”

Designed with veterans in mind using the household model with the concept of being a “community in itself,” Puller Veterans Care Center (PVCC) is a 128-bed facility organized into eight households, with each household having 16 private rooms with a private bathroom and walk in shower. Each household also has a spacious living and dining room.

Built on the former Vint Hill Farms Station in Fauquier County, which previously served as a United States Army and National Security Agency facility, the site played a critical role in eavesdropping on enemy communications during World War II, when it intercepted a message that helped lead to the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

PVCC offers a wide range of amenities for veterans including:

The Puller Veterans Care Center is named in honor of the extraordinary generational service made by three members of Puller family: Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller; Lieutenant Lewis B. Puller, Jr.; and Senator Linda Todd “Toddy” Puller.

Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, United States Marine Corps, was born in West Point, Virginia. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1918, attended boot camp at Parris Island, and graduated from Officer Candidate School. He served with distinction in the Caribbean, Central America, WWII, and the Korean War before retiring in 1955. He is one of only two people to receive five Navy Crosses and is one of the most decorated Marines in history. He retired to Saluda, Virginia and passed away in 1971.

Lt. Lewis B. Puller, Jr., United States Marine Corps, served in Vietnam in 1968, where he was wounded when he tripped a booby-trapped howitzer round, losing his right leg at the hip, left leg below the knee, left hand and several fingers on his right hand. Because he was out in front of his platoon, he saved most of them by taking the hit. He was awarded the Purple Heart and several other military honors. He graduated from William & Mary Law School and worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He died in Alexandria in 1994, shortly after winning the Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography, “Fortunate Son.”

Linda Todd “Toddy” Puller met her husband, Lt. Lewis B. Puller, Jr., while working as a schoolteacher in Woodbridge following her graduation from Mary Washington College. In 1991, she won a seat in the House of Delegates. In 1999, she won a seat in the Senate of Virginia. She carried the legislation to create the Virginia Veteran and Family Support program and the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) Program within the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS). There is not a part of DVS unaffected by her legislative efforts, which were always propelled by the memory of her husband and father-in-law. She lives in Alexandria.

To learn more about the admissions process at PVCC call 540-680-5200 or email PVCCAdmissions@dvs.virginia.gov.

About the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS)

The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) is a state government agency with more than 50 locations across the Commonwealth of Virginia. DVS traces its history to 1928 and the establishment of the Virginia War Service Bureau to assist Virginia’s World War I veterans. Today, DVS assists veterans and their families in filing claims for federal veterans benefits; provides veterans and family members with linkages to services including behavioral health, housing, employment, education, and other programs. The agency operates four long-veterans care centers offering in-patient (residential) skilled nursing care, memory care, and short-term rehabilitative care for veterans; and provides an honored final resting place for veterans and their families at three state veterans cemeteries. It operates the Virginia War Memorial, the Commonwealth’s tribute to Virginia’s men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice from World War II to the present. For more information, please visit www.dvs.virginia.gov.

About Virginia Veterans Care Centers

The Virginia Department of Veterans Services’ veterans care centers provide in-patient (residential) long-term skilled nursing care, memory care, and short-term rehabilitative care for Virginia’s veterans. They are first-class facilities designed to enhance quality of life with a clean, caring, and dignified setting appropriate for those men and women who have served our country with honor. In addition to the Puller Veterans Care Center in Fauquier County, the Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center (Richmond), the Davis & McDaniel Veterans Care Center (Roanoke) and the Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center (Virginia Beach) are accepting applications for admission.

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