FAYETTEVILLE — The state should consider moving its Fayetteville Veterans Home to a new location, among other changes, given the home’s history of poor patient care in an unsuitable building, governor’s candidate Curtis Coleman said Tuesday.
Charles Johnson, deputy director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs, said the nursing home is moving in the direction Coleman wants it to go and problems there are being addressed. “I’m in complete agreement with him that the facility is not as nice as it could be and still has the feeling of being in a hospital,” he said Thursday afternoon. Major renovations are in the planning stage, he said.
“The failures at the home are systemic and an indicator of failure at the very highest level,” Coleman said at a noon news conference at the American Legion post in Fayetteville. The home has been cited this year for care issues that include death of a resident in a negligence case and breaking an resident’s arm in a case where, investigators found, workers gave false statements of what happened. At last count, 73 residents are at the home.
“This home is the 31st most profitable nursing home in Arkansas, according to a report in Arkansas Business,’” Coleman said. “Why is a nursing home run by the state not putting 100 percent of what it makes into taking care of our veterans?” The home’s receipts exceeded expenses last year by more than $600,000, he said, yet the home is subject to a class-action lawsuit by workers and former workers for unpaid overtime and for not allowing time off.
The extra revenue comes from fixing problems that weren’t getting the nursing home the full federal reimbursement it was entitled to, Johnson said. Fixing such problems was part of wide-ranging changes at the home, he said. The department will get its finances stabilized and put all the money it can back into patient care, assuming the Legislature approves, he said.
The Legislature should do a “thorough and transparent investigation into the operations and management at the Fayetteville Veterans Home,” Coleman said.
Coleman is running in the Republican primary for governor against former 3rd District Rep Asa Hutchinson and former state Rep. Debra Hobbs, both of Rogers The only declared Democrat in the race is former 4th District Rep. Mike Ross of Prescott. Hutchinson’s campaign declined comment. Telephone and e-mail messages to Hobbs campaign weren’t returned Tuesday.
The home is in a renovated portion of what used to be Washington Regional Medical Center in downtown Fayetteville. The difficulty of evacuating the home in the event of fire or severe weather is also a concern, Coleman said. The department leases space for the home from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The department is negotiating with the university to renovate and lease more space, Johnson said.