The Ben Atchley State Veterans’ Home

In 2007, the demand for a new nursing home for East Tennessee veterans was met by The Ben Atchley State Veterans’ Home, an 89,000 SF, state-of-the-art facility in a quiet, rural setting in West Knox County. The carefully integrated site and building design provides 140 beds in an accessible, warm, and peaceful environment for its residents. All required services are located on site, enabling the staff to meet the residents’ needs in an appropriate and timely manner. The one level structure is made up of several resident wings and public spaces surrounding courtyards. Every design element, including architectural elements, landscaping, furniture, and interior design, has been carefully configured or selected to create a home-like environment for the residents instead of the traditional institutional environment. The project was $2,000,000 under budget and recently received a Five-Star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) based on a three-year review of surveys covering health inspections, staffing, and quality measures, which include design.