AYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas State Veterans Home in Fayetteville will get a new director Monday.
Jay Green, a former administrator for nursing homes Benton, Cabot and Conway, will oversee the 102-bed facility, director Matt Snead of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday. He replace the recently resigned Kriss Schaffer.
“Watching Jay interact with our veterans and staff during the second interview, we knew he was the right person for the job,” Snead said. “I want to thank the task force consisting of the family council and other key stakeholders who did an outstanding job screening applicants after a nationwide search, and assisting us with the decision.”
The department formed the task force in April to find a replacement.
Green previously served as administrator for Stagecoach Nursing and Rehab in Benton, Greystone Nursing and Rehab in Cabot and St. Andrew’s Place in Conway.
In a related development, the Fayetteville home earned a five-star rating on Tuesday from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the highest rating awarded. Approximately the top 10 percent of facilities in the state receive the five-star rating. This is the first time a state-run veteran’s home achieved a five-star rating, Snead said.
“This is truly an historic achievement earned through the hard work of our employees and volunteers at Fayetteville,” he said of the rating.
The Veteran’s Department has the Fayetteville home and had one in Little Rock. The state is in the process of opening a new home in Little Rock.
Schaffer resigned April 19, he said at Snead’s request. The department did not discuss details of the personnel matter.
“I had trouble toeing the line with state bureaucracy,” Schaffer said in an interview after the resignation.
Schaffer took over the veterans home in January 2014 after a string of failures. In 2013, neglect was found to be a factor in the death of one patient and in the injury of another. The home also missed $114,000 in Medicare reimbursements in 2011 because it didn’t file reports in a timely manner.