As dozens of veterans and their families looked on Friday afternoon, officials at the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center unveiled the new Community Living Center, a sprawling residential-style facility that administrators are calling a model for the future of long-term veteran care.
The 181,350-square-foot center, roughly triple the size of the facility it replaces, houses 120 private beds spread across 10 separate residential “neighborhoods,” each with its own dining area, kitchen, lounge and quiet room. The design departs sharply from the institutional hallways of a typical nursing home.
Dr. Jaza Marina, the chief of geriatric and extended care at the medical center, said during a tour on Friday that the intent of the facility is to feel like a second home. Each “neighborhood” carries the names of local landmarks, like Naples, Marina and Belmont, that surround the Long Beach VA’s 100-acre campus…