DENVER-
Federal officials launched an inspection of a state veterans home on Monday, earlier than they planned, after reports the facility is so run-down that some buildings had to be closed and many bathrooms are not handicap-accessible.
Viki Manley, office director of State Veterans and Nursing Homes, said the federal Veterans Affairs Department was concerned over life-safety issues at the facility in Homelake, about 160 miles south of Denver, and moved up a survey that it had planned to do in May.
She said the inspection would take about a week and would involve a thorough review of all operations.
VA spokesman Paul Sherbo said he did not know why the Homelake facility was getting an early inspection. He said the VA generally inspects facilities annually.
Homelake, which has 25 cottages housing 46 veterans, also had problems with asbestos, lead paint and poor emergency response systems, according to state reports reviewed by the AP.
The reports, filed by the state with federal officials, also showed a patient fell and died at one facility and 42 residents developed bed sores at another.
At Homelake, the state failed to address problems that date to 2004, when similar concerns were raised, Manley said. She said the facility is scheduled for a $2.2 million upgrade with help from the federal government.
“They have agreed to move up the VA piece as a life safety, priority-one project, so we are hoping those funds will converge in October where we can start doing a full renovation of the domiciliary cottage,” she told the Legislative Oversight Committee on State and Veterans Nursing Homes on Monday.
The committee was formed after federal reports in 2003 said the state Veterans Nursing Home in Aurora had major problems that posed significant risks to the health and safety of residents.
Federal officials had denied the home full certification and said it should not be operated by the state. They said if the Colorado Department of Human Services didn’t solve the problems, it would have to return about $16.9 million the federal government contributed to building the facility.
Manley said those problems have been corrected.
She said the state needs to look at all facilities across the state, not just Homelake. The state also operates nursing homes for veterans in Florence, Rifle and Trinidad. Another center in Walsenburg is run by the Huerfano County Hospital District.
Manley said bed sores that 42 residents in Walsenberg developed came over a period of time and were not an indication of continuing problems with patient care. She told the committee the issues were addressed and only two residents currently have bed sores.
During a visit to Colorado last week, U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said his department would work with the state to bring the homes up to standard.
