Atrocious conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the continuing flow of war casualties have Americans justifiably concerned about the care of those who’ve fought for their country.
News of problems at a Veterans Administration hospital in Los Angeles, including a botched surgery, and of substandard conditions at some other VA facilities have only increased public nervousness.
But there was encouraging news last week for Colorado veterans with the announcement that the VA has begun land purchases for a new hospital near the University of Colorado’s Fitzsimons medical campus in Aurora. For a time, funding questions and disagreements between CU and the VA had slowed plans for the new hospital. Slated to open in 2011, the facility will replace the VA’s half-century-old hospital in east Denver.
There was also good news last week when state lawmakers agreed to guarantee $917,095 for renovation at the venerable Homelake State Veterans Center in Monte Vista, which opened in 1890. The money will match $2.2 million in federal funds to upgrade assisted-living cottages, whose deficiencies were highlighted in a recent VA report. (Nursing care facilities at Homelake were built in 1991 and don’t have such problems.)
Homelake is one of six state-run nursing facilities that serve veterans and their relatives. While the state does contribute to building costs, operating expenses are covered by resident fees and federal dollars, not state taxpayers.
Other state facilities are in Aurora, Florence, Rifle and Walsenburg, all built since 1976. A nursing home in Trinidad, built in 1957, is open to non-veterans and was started as a safety-net facility because because the city and surrounding area had no skilled nursing facility. The six facilities have a total of 589 beds.
The VA investigation found some other problems, including a death from a fall at Rifle and patients with bedsores at Walsenburg. Although budget problems have squeezed the state’s ability to contribute to facility upgrades, more than $9.5 million of improvements have been finished or underway at five homes.
While the homes can serve only a fraction of Colorado veterans aged 65 or older, they perform a valuable service and need to offer the best possible care and facilities for their residents.
