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Ohio Veterans Homes — Wartime Service and a Disabling Condition

Two state homes, at Sandusky and Georgetown, offering nursing, skilled and memory care and (at Sandusky) an independent-living domiciliary. What a resident pays is an assessment set on verified income, and it assumes the home receives the federal VA per diem for that resident.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Long-term care at an income-based assessment rather than a market rate

The department publishes a cost calculator that gives an estimate only; the final assessment is set on verified income.
The published estimates assume the home receives the federal VA per diem for the resident. Ineligibility for that per diem can add to what the resident pays.
There is no charge to apply. The department warns that paid application-assistance firms give an applicant no advantage.

Who is entitled to it

You served in the armed forces.
Your discharge was honorable or under honorable conditions.
You are an Ohio resident.
Your home is in Ohio.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

1Check all four gates: a citizen of Ohio for one year or more at the time of application; an honorable discharge or discharge under honorable conditions; active duty other than training during a period of war or declared armed conflict, OR the Purple Heart, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal or Vietnam Service Medal; and being disabled by disease, wounds or otherwise and, by reason of that disability, incapable of earning a living.
2Submit the introductory eligibility form on the department’s site — there is never a charge to apply at either home.
3Run the department’s cost calculator before you plan around a figure. It is an estimate; the assessment is finally set on verified income.
4If admission is refused, ask for reconsideration — the appeal is a personal written request and needs no professional help.

Form: Ohio Veterans Homes admission application
File with: Ohio Department of Veterans Services, Columbus
Documents you will need: dd214 · va benefit summary letter
Annual recertification: The office asks you to confirm each year.

CorrectionSpouse admission is the detail that catches families out. Several state veterans homes admit a resident’s husband or wife alongside them. Ohio does not: the department’s own answer is that an admittee’s spouse may be admitted "only if he or she is a veteran who meets all of the eligibility requirements." A non-veteran spouse cannot move in.

Worth knowingThe fourth gate is the one summaries drop. Beyond residency, discharge and wartime service, Ohio asks that the applicant be disabled by disease, wounds or otherwise and, by reason of that disability, incapable of earning a living. It is not a VA percentage test, and it is not waived by age alone.

Worth knowingThe wartime gate has a medal alternative: the Purple Heart, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal or the Vietnam Service Medal will do instead of service inside a declared war period.

Known gapThe homes do not currently offer respite care, and outpatient therapy is limited to residents. The assessment schedule itself is behind a calculator rather than published as a table, so we carry no dollar figure.

Sources

authority · published policyOhio Department of Veterans Services — Veterans Homes FAQs (eligibility, spouse admission, cost assessment, application charge)
operating · published policyOhio Department of Veterans Services — Ohio Veterans Home, Georgetown (168-bed nursing facility, standard care and memory care)

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.