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 PA Soldiers' and Sailors' Home

This Home is a Part of American History

The Pennsylvania Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home (PSSH) in Erie is the oldest of the six veterans homes, having served as an important historic marker throughout Erie County since it opened in 1886. The home rests on 26 acres overlooking beautiful Lake Erie, but you can’t walk far before coming across a symbol of the lives sacrificed and freedoms fought for. Whether it is the Major General "Mad Anthony" Wayne Blockhouse, Avenue of Flags depicting each of the five military branches or the landmark Civil War cannon, anyone visiting the home is reminded that American heroes have made the PSSH their home for more than a century.

But what makes PSSH’s exterior special and unique is the wonderfully manicured, four-acre Veterans Memorial Cemetery that serves as the final resting place to more than 1,300 veterans who served our nation dating to the Civil War era. The PSSH is the only veterans home to maintain a cemetery for veterans.

Patriotic symbols are not the only way our residents are honored. The Pennsylvania Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home 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 Erie community. 

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Living Here

An Active Lifestyle With All The Comforts

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Residents at PSSH enjoy an active lifestyle with a full schedule of organized programs from holiday parties to billiards tournaments to bingo. Many residents look forward to quiet time on the outdoor courtyard where they can see ships coming into the Lake Erie Bay, or singing along during one of the concert series performances held at the home’s gazebo. When residents want to enjoy personal time, they have easy access to an on-site chapel featuring beautiful tiffany stained glass windows, a barber shop, library, and canteen snack shop.




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est. 1886
Serving PA Veterans for
Over 100 Years

207
Total Number of Beds
at PSSH

259
Dedicated Clinical and
Professional Staff
15,734
Hours Donated in 2019 by 

by 613 Volunteers




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Levels of Care at PSSH
The Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Home 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 service such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and recreational therapy; dental services; and social services. Below are the specific levels of care available at PSSH.


Personal 
Nursing Care



Skilled 
Nursing Care



Memory 
Nursing Care



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Honoring Our Heroes

A Community That Offers Fun and Excitement

The desire to participate in fun and healthy activities does not keep residents secluded to the scenic PSSH grounds. Our residents have plenty of opportunities to take trips and enjoy Pennsylvania’s Great Lake Region. Nearby Presque Isle, a peninsula with seven miles of beach, trails and eye-opening sunsets, provides residents with an all-inclusive destination to enjoy the great outdoors that includes fishing, boating and picnics. Erie offers culture and entertainment, too, including theaters, museums, golf courses and a host of professional hockey, baseball and basketball minor league teams to cheer for.

Our residents love to stay connected to their military background and can be seen marching every year in the local Veterans Day and Memorial Day parades. Trips to tour the local Coast Guard station, the Maritime Museum or to see the USS Niagara are among favorite excursions with the residents.

I have a lot of friends here. I couldn’t be in a better spot. The staff is great. The food is wonderful. 
-Paul, PSSH Resident



Interesting PSSH Facts

The PA Soldiers' and Sailors' Cemetery, located on the campus of PSSH, is the commonwealth's only state cemetery and it is maintained by the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. 



PSSH is also home to the historic Major General "Mad Anthony" Wayne Blockhouse. Find out if Mad Anthony is really buried in two Pennsylvania locations, read "In 1809, a bizarre burial for a 'mad' general."



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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