Five state-operated nursing homes for veterans lost more than $1.5 million over five years, and some staff costs at the homes are higher than those of privately operated centers, an audit released Tuesday said.
Operated by the Colorado Department of Human Services, the nursing centers are in Aurora, Florence, Monte Vista, Rifle and Trinidad, though the state sold the home in Trinidad in February, and it now has a private operator.
The four homes still operated by the state care for 434 residents, have 546 staff members and are expected to be self-sufficient.
The state audit found that over the past five fiscal years, the five state-operated nursing homes — including the one in Trinidad — lost a combined $1.5 million. That’s despite the fact that the homes posted combined gains in the past two fiscal years.
The Trinidad home posted a loss in each of the five years, and only the center in Monte Vista posted positive revenues each of the five years.
A sixth veterans nursing home, in Walsenburg, is owned by the state but operated through a contract with the Huerfano County Hospital District.
Part of the problem, auditors found, was there were no clear goals for setting the number of residents at facilities to keep them solvent. For example, even though the Aurora facility operated at an average of 91 percent of capacity or higher over the five-year period, it still lost a total of $650,000 during that time.
The Department of Human Services disagreed that its capacity goals were not adequate but acknowledged other problems with the centers.
“Between fiscal years 2007 and 2011, about $325,000 was allocated to pay an outside service consultant for accounting and marketing services at the homes,” the audit said, “but it is unclear how these services were distinguished from the job duties of current state personnel.”
Department officials said they would review the arrangement with the consultant.
Auditors also questioned whether some staff at the centers are overpaid.
“Total staffing costs compose roughly 70 percent of monthly costs at the homes and appear to be higher than staffing costs paid by the private nursing homes with which the state-owned homes compete,” the report said.
At three of the homes, total average monthly salary costs for registered nurses and certified nursing assistants were almost $315,000 higher than for the same workers at private nursing homes, auditors said.
“While we understand the importance of maintaining highly qualified direct-care staff to ensure the best medical care is provided,” the report said, “these high salary costs emphasize the importance of keeping the administrative costs for accounting and marketing functions at the homes as low as possible.”
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
