FAYETTEVILLE -- Kriss Schaffer, the director of the Arkansas Veterans Home at Fayetteville, resigned Tuesday afternoon.
"I was asked to resign," Schaffer said. He said Matt Snead, director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, asked for his resignation in a meeting between the two earlier Tuesday.
"I had trouble toeing the line with state bureaucracy," Schaffer said, but didn't elaborate on what procedures he objected to. He added, "I have trouble watching my mouth."
Schaffer took over the veterans home in January 2014 after a string of failures at the 102-bed facility. In 2013, neglect was found to be a factor in the death of one patient and the injury of another. A declining number of residents put the Fayetteville home's viability in doubt, also. Occupancy was down to 62 patients when Schaffer took over. Also, the home missed $114,000 in Medicare reimbursements in 2011 because it didn't file reports in a timely manner.
"Our Fayetteville veterans home is in a much better place than it was in the past, but that's not all because of Kriss Schaffer," said Sarah Jones, spokeswoman for the state department. "There are a lot of wonderful people working at the home. We wish Kriss the best."
"I really can't comment on what Mr. Schaffer's feelings are about working in state government," Jones said of Schaffer's reasons for leaving. Jones was contacted Tuesday afternoon. Snead said in a statement, "As a veteran, I want to thank Kriss for his service to our residents and wish him the best in a much deserved retirement."
The department will form a task force to include members of the local veterans community including the Fayetteville Veterans Home Family Council in a search for a replacement for Schaffer, Jones said.
Schaffer had 32 years of experience in long-term care at the time when he took over the Fayetteville home. He made plans to retire after running one of the most highly regarded nursing homes in Arkansas, Greenhurst Nursing Center in Charleston. He decided to put off retirement plans shortly after then-Gov. Mike Beebe appointed a director of the veterans department and gave notice problems would be fixed in Fayetteville and in another state-run veterans home in Little Rock or both homes would be closed.
Schaffer had read about the state-run veterans home's travails in the news and decided he might be able to help, he said when he began work in Fayetteville. Schaffer was the state-run home's third director in 15 months when he took over. His immediate predecessor was dismissed in November after a patient wandered out of the home into the adjoining University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences building.
The report from the July 2015 inspection of the Fayetteville veterans home shows a better-than-average standard of care. A federal Medicare website, "Nursing Home Compare," rates the facility at four out of five stars.
However, a Jan. 22 report by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said the home was below standards on patient assessments, quality of care, fire safety and other areas. For instance, special dietary needs of patients with diabetes wasn't fully met, the report said. Tests showed several residents had higher-than-acceptable blood-sugar levels, also. The last annual test of the facility's fire pump wasn't complete, either, the report said.
NW News on 04/20/2016