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Veterans services reports rising assistance costs, announces planned 20,000 sq. ft. VA center

Medina County Board of Commissioners · March 3, 2026

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Summary

Veteran Services reported increased demand and expenses in 2025 — including 444 households helped with immediate financial assistance and roughly $4.0 million in vouchers — and said a new 20,000 sq. ft. VA center is planned on the county's south side; the facility will provide many services but not imaging or x‑ray, and outreach will continue.

Medina County Veteran Services reported increased demand and costs for 2025 and briefed the Board on plans for a new VA center that county officials expect to serve as a local hub for veterans' services.

Ed Zachary (Veteran Services) said immediate financial assistance helped 444 veterans and families in 2025 and reported voucher activity and staffing figures. "On page 4, our immediate financial assistance program last year, we helped 444 veterans and families, in 2025," Zachary said. He later summarized voucher totals: a top figure listed on a page as $400,496.43 and an overall vouchers figure he reported as $3,999,919.70 for 2025, with an average voucher of $902.20.

Zachary said the Medina County Veterans Memorial Fund, a 501(c)(3), contributed more than $65,000 to county programs and bought supplies for initiatives such as Guitars for Vets and art programming. He also described transportation services that moved 861 veterans to regional VA clinics last year and said that Medina County has co‑operated with the Parma VA center for 16 years.

The largest announcement in the report was a planned VA center on the county's south side. "For those of you who don't know, it's gonna be a 20,000 square foot facility," Zachary said, noting the center would provide many medical and support services but not imaging or x‑ray (those services will continue to go to other facilities). He said county staff plan community outreach and a formal announcement in April with local leaders and partners. Zachary also outlined staffing and training efforts, accreditation of service officers and outreach to nursing homes and community events.