Baldomero Lopez State Veterans

ALPHA - DELTA. 
Community Involvement. The Tampa Tarpons, New York Yankees prospects, pitchers Justin Kamplain, Trevor Lane and infielder Brandon Wagner with Jessica Lack, Manager Partnership & Community Activation traveled to Baldomero Lopez State Veterans, one of the six veterans nursing homes in the state of Florida. (www.floridavets.org)
Upon completion of construction of the state of the art 7.3M facility, the naming of the nursing home was dedicated to Congressional Medal of Honor, Tampa native, U.S. Marine Corps. 1^st Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez. The first resident veteran was welcomed on April, 1999.
The Nursing Home is a 120 bed facility providing housing to members from all the military branches;  Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. In order to take residence, it is mandatory all must have served in the military. This is a long-term health care facility. The average age at 80-90s.
On gaining entrance to this facility you immediately realize you are visiting no ordinary nursing home. At first sight you are visually engaged by walls decorated with significant/personal military artifacts, photographs from past and present residents, veterans of our armed forces. Each branch of the military uniforms, most vintage, are framed and exhibited over an entire wall.
Baldomero Lopez State Veterans is a "T" shaped facility with two primary veterans housing units - the Alpha and Delta, a Memory Care Unit. The treatment of our veterans in nursing homes is very complex with a multitude of out of the ordinary senior citizen health conditions. All veterans are treated with the Snoezelen Sensory Program.
Activities occupy a large portion of a veteran's daily routine. The Alpha & Delta calendar list an average of seven activities per day, during every day of the month. Memorial Day - May 28^th and Veterans Day - November 11^th are days of special recognition organized by "Operation Patriot".
The facility offers many forms of activities to accommodate veterans' needs. There are three designated TV rooms where each TV is dedicated to different programming; old movies/ westerns, news and game shows. In the Activities Den the veterans spend time creating in arts and crafts and especially building model airplanes. They paint. The men sit at round tables reading newspapers, magazines, share conversation and talk sports.
The Tampa Tarpons players were greeted by two activities cats; Max & Louie. The cats and veterans benefit from Pet Therapy.
The dining room chef takes pride in their preparation of food. All meals are homemade and most veterans are able to request meals of their choice. There are three dining areas, one includes buffet style and the special needs Alpha and Delta Bistros. Once a month there is take out.   
A spacious garden is plotted and the veterans tend to their edible produce, herbs and flowers. It is a fenced-in circular garden and while most veterans are in wheelchairs, benches are placed for sitting and enjoying the outdoors grass, trees and flowers.
"Baseball Day". A number of veterans waited at the front entrance lobby, anticipating the visit from Yankees Tampa Tarpon players.
On arrival, the players were escorted on a tour of the "T" shaped facility by Johanna Snee, Activity Director. Along the way they made many stops to shake hands and greet the senior veterans. Most who served during war, many conflicts included, each veteran spoke a bit of history.
Along the tour, the players handed out Tampa Tarpon baseball caps and shared smiles. A baseball cap is a magical thing. Many veterans were pleased with an autograph.
A veteran in a wheelchair, while experiencing difficulty with speech, slowly play-by-play for pitchers Kamplain and Lane a memory of pitching a no-hitter while in high school in Pennsylvania. The young pitchers identified with the veteran.
The players spoke with "Angel" a veteran who left Puerto Rico at age 17. He enlisted in the Army at the end of WW II and then saw action in Korea, Viet Nam and continued with Army Special Forces (Green Berets) until he retired. He never returned to Puerto Rico.
I met "Norman" a Marine, 54 years of age, with twenty-four years of service during the Gulf War and Afghanistan. He lovingly spoke of his wife Susan and his two sons and three grandchildren.
I was privileged to share conversations of family. "Dennis", married to his sweetheart of 60 years. He looks forward as she visits three times a week. The Army veteran suffered a stroke but has faith in rehabilitation. He said he was deployed as an Army Airborne Ranger but during his terms of service he never confided in his spouse because he did not want to worry her.
Who remembers "Bubba the Love Sponge?" Bob/Ned is a veteran and is at residence still entertaining his veteran fans with his radio stories.
Thanks to "Operation Patriots" we sat to lunch in the baseball decorated main dining room with the most delightful of veterans. He shared his repertoire of jokes and kept us smiling while we enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, mac & cheese, refreshments. We just knew that during his term of military service he kept the troops entertained.
Baldomero Lopez State Veterans once provided a healthy residence to a married couple. The McIntosh couple both served during WW II. Their daughter gratefully remembers her parent's contentment as veterans, sharing their life together at Baldomero Lopez Veterans.
Family visits. An aging population of veterans may sometimes have no family. The nursing home has an "Adopt a Hero" program started by Johanna Snee and her "Baldy Girls". With participation from the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office "Operation Patriots" Sharon Richmond and Ken Escobio devote hours assisting with some of the needs of the veterans at Baldomero Lopez Veterans, especially those without families.
There are currently three female military veterans in residence. We met "Andrea" an Army veteran who requires private nursing care. We can accept a multitude of legitimate reasons for the low number of female veterans now in residence. Yet, recognizing that the number of female veterans are on the rise, hopefully the State of Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs is coming of age with long-term health care.
First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez represents a local hero, Ybor City native, Tampa, Florida.
(born 8/25/1925) - 9/15/1950). He is among the 14 native Floridians and the first and only native of Ybor City, Tampa to receive the Congressional Medal of honor, ([email protected]).
The Medal of Honor is the highest Award, for valor against an enemy force, which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. In 1950, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to his family. 1^st Lt Baldomero Lopez, U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1^st Battalion, 5^th Marines, 1^st Marine Division, on September 15, 1950 sacrificed his life during the Korean War Inchon Invasion.