Seven Hills Foundation plans center for vets in Worcester
The Seven Hills Foundation, a Worcester-based health and human services nonprofit, is close to inking a deal to purchase property in Worcester to site a center for U.S. military veterans suffering from brain injuries.
Bill Stock, vice president for advancement at Seven Hills, said the agency was in negotiations to acquire a four-acre parcel in Worcester to locate the center. He declined to identify the location of the property until the deal is closed.
Seven Hills has been working on establishing what it's calling the Massachusetts Polytrauma Center for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries for several years, according to Stock. But now the nonprofit is closer than ever to making the proposed nine-bed facility a reality.
Seven Hills recently signed a "memorandum of understanding" with the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester to provide services at the center.
Gary Lapidas, senior vice president of UMass Memorial Health Care, said the agreement "established a framework of cooperation" between the medical center and Seven Hills in regards to the planned unit for veterans.
The center will be the first of its kind in New England, according to David Jordan, president and CEO of Seven Hills. It will serve as a place for veterans who are well enough to leave an acute-care hospital, but not well enough to return home.
Stock estimated that the total start-up cost for the center, including construction costs, would total $1.5 million. Seven Hills hopes to fund the endeavor through a combination of federal and state dollars, as well as private fundraisers. The Rick Karbowski Charity Golf Tournament, scheduled for Sept. 24 at the Blackstone National Golf Club in Sutton, will benefit the center.
During the process of developing the plan for the center, Stock said he and Jordan made several trips to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
"One visit down there and your heart is broken," Stock said.
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