• History
• Eligibility
• Resident Fees
• Contact Address

History

The Naval Home was established February 26, 1811, by the Honorable Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy under President James Madison. The original charter stated that the Home was "to provide a permanent Asylum for decrepit and disabled naval officers, seamen, and marines."

The "Naval Asylum" officially opened in 1834 on a 23-acre site known as "The Plantation" in Philadelphia, PA. The name was changed to "Naval Home" in 1880. Naval personnel who were "so injured or infirmed as to be unable to contribute materially to their own support" were allowed to live at the Home. Those who entered the Home able-bodied were asked to provide as much labor as possible toward the care of the Home. In the late 1960's the Navy determined that the Philadelphia facility could not be modernized or expanded economically and chose to construct a new facility on 39 acres fronting the Gulf of Mexico in Gulfport, MS. In 1799, a monthly 20-cent contribution from each person on active duty, helped establish the Navy Hospital Pension Fund. This was the initial source of funding for the Naval Home. The Fund also received monies from the sale of "Prizes of War" and fines/penalties imposed on Naval personnel. These monies funded the Naval Home for nearly 100 years. Congress abolished the Pension Fund in 1934 and deposited the proceeds into the U.S. Treasury. Navy appropriations funded the Naval Home from 1935-1991.

Eligibility

Persons eligible for residency are those who served as members of the Armed Forces, at least one-half of whose service was not active commissioned service (other than as a Warrant Officer or Limited-Duty Officer), and who meet the following additional criteria:

(1) Persons who — (a) are 60 years of age or over; and (b) were discharged or released from service in the Armed Forces under honorable conditions after 20 or more years of active service.

(2) Persons who are determined under rules prescribed by the Retirement Home Board to be incapable of earning a livelihood because of a service connected disability incurred in the line of duty in the Armed Forces.

(3) Persons who — (a) served in a war theater during a time of war declared by Congress or were eligible for hostile fire special pay under section 310 of title 37, United States Code; (b) were discharged or released from service in the Armed Forces under honorable conditions; and (c) are determined under rules prescribed by the Retirement Home Board to be incapable of earning a livelihood because of injuries, disease, or disability.

(4) Persons who — (a) served in a women’s component of the Armed Forces before the enactment of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948; and (b) are determined under rules prescribed by the Retirement Home Board to be eligible for admission because of compelling personal circumstances.

Coast Guard veterans who had service during wartime while the Coast Guard was operated as part of the Navy are also eligible for admission.

The eligibility of Active-Status Reservists for residency at USNH will fall into category three. “Active Duty” is defined in part as full-time in the active military service of the United States. Such full time duty includes the annual active duty for training that Reservists must fulfill. It does not include reserve inactive-duty training commonly known as Reserve drills, nor does it include years spent as a drilling Reservist; the key is active duty time only.

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Resident Fees

The U.S. Naval Home will collect a monthly fee from each resident equal to 25 percent of all federal payments made to a resident. Effective October 1, 1997, the Resident Fee will be applied to all income received by a resident and the percentage will increase until it reaches 40%. The following Resident Fee schedule has been approved by the Armed Forces Retirement Home Board to begin after all residents reach the 25 percent fee level in FY 1997:

Although residents must be self-sufficient, mentally and physically, at time of admission, they are provided for by the USNH thereafter, either in the Home’s limited medical care facility or at the nearby Keesler Air Force Base or Veterans Administration Hospital in Biloxi, MS (if eligible and when available). All USNH residents are solely responsible for the cost of any medical care required beyond the capabilities of the Home.

Financial responsibility for medical care:There is no charge for medical care rendered by the USNH medical care facility. Residents are financially responsible for care received from other medical facilities or from visiting civilian medical practitioners. Residents usually maintain medical insurance including a supplemental policy to cover medical care in the event that military/veteran medical facilities are not available.

In addition to medical care, the USNH also provides residents with a private room, board, movie theater, exercise room, swimming pool, library, hobby shops, and other recreational facilities. Other services, such as barber and beauty shops, are also available.

The rooms are furnished with a bed, desk, night stand, lamp and a chair. Each room has a half-bath with lavatory and toilet. Showers and baths are located on each floor.

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Contact Address

Questions and applications for admission can be sent to:

Director
United States Naval Home
1800 Beach Drive
Gulfport, MS 39507-1597
Phone: 1-800-332-3527

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Much of this information has been provided by the Uniformed Services Almanac.™
Click here to learn how to obtain a copy.