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Gino J. Merli Veterans' Center

Veterans Honored Every Day For Their Service

Named after a WWII hero from northeastern Pennsylvania who received the Medal of Honor, the Gino J. Merli Veterans’ Center (GMVC), located in downtown Scranton (Lackawanna County), exudes patriotism inside and out.

Visitors to GMVC are greeted by statues depicting the five branches of the Armed Forces. Not far from the statues rests the Carol Ann Drazba Memorial, a tribute to one of eight nurses killed during the Vietnam War. The memorial is a perpetual reminder that Gino Merli never forgets those from Pennsylvania who served and sacrificed. Inside, current residents are honored every day, through the Wall of Honor display, an exhibit of photos depicting residents in their military uniforms while serving our country. The nearby Tags of Freedom display also serves as a lasting reminder of the men and women who once called GMVC their home.

Memorials and displays are not the only way our residents are honored. The GMVC provides exceptional care for its residents thanks to a professional staff -- many of whom are veterans -- who proudly come to work each day excited and honored to take care of true American heroes. Visits to the home by current service members and from representatives of local veteran service organizations are very common and provide a constant reminder that our residents are thought about often throughout the Scranton community.





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Living Here

An Active Lifestyle With All The Comforts

Residents at GMVC benefit from an active lifestyle with a daily agenda filled with organized programs from bingo to birthday celebrations, that the residents help to plan and execute. If it is leisure time our residents are looking for, they have plenty to choose from, including the camaraderie of fellow veterans playing cards in the multi-purpose room, planting flowers and veggies in the outdoor Victory Garden, or enjoying a bright and sunny day from the covered pavilion in the courtyard. When personal time is in order, our residents have easy access to an on-site chapel, barber shop, beautician and canteen snack shop.

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est. 1994
Serving PA Veterans for
Over 26 Years

196
Total Number of Beds
at GMVC

290
Dedicated Clinical and
Professional Staff
26,447
Hours Donated in 2019

by 794 Volunteers




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Levels of Care at GMVC

GMVC provides residents with the care and support they need in order to live an active and healthy life with as much independence as possible. The Veterans Homes offer levels of care tailored to the specific health needs of our residents and are supplemented with an array of clinical services that include: medical, clinical, and nursing services; drug and nutritional therapy; rehabilitative services such as physical therapyoccupational therapy, and recreational therapy; dental services; and social services. Below are the specific levels of care available at GMVC.


Skilled 
Nursing Care



Memory 
Care

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Honoring Our Heroes

A Community That Offers Fun and Excitement

The fun, active lifestyle for our residents is not confined to the GMVC. Our residents have numerous opportunities to go on trips and explore the culture, history and entertainment throughout the vibrant Scranton area. Attending a Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Triple-A baseball game and visiting the Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple are just a couple of our residents’ popular trip destinations. Other fun excursions include fishing, movies, bowling, aquariums, concerts, fairs, casinos, racetracks and shopping. And, it is not uncommon to see our residents staying connected to their military roots while marching in Scranton’s annual Armed Forces Day Parade or visiting the local Nay Aug Park to see the World War Monument and pay tribute to the fallen. 



Gino Merli Veterans' Center (​GMVC) is a godsend to veterans. It has everything a veteran could want and lacks nothing. The Community is very fortunate to have GMVC. Family can be here whenever they want. 
-Sam, GMVC Resident


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Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.”

Abraham Lincoln
American statesman and lawyer
served as the 16th president of the United States ....