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ARIZONA VETS' HOME CONDITIONS LACKING DUE TO
POOR
OVERSIGHT -- Panel issues mild report saying
substandard
conditions can be corrected by better
oversight.
State of Arizona Veterans' Home
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veterans' home, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click
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http://www.azcentral.
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les/0928vethome0928.html
Story below:
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Vet Home conditions lacking due to poor
oversight
Mary Jo Pitzl
The Arizona Republic
Months after the state Veteran Home looked like it was going to be
Arizona's version of the Walter Reed scandal, a legislative oversight
panel has issued a rather mild recommendation: The home needs better
oversight.
The panel of senators and representatives agreed with two audits of the
home that found substandard care for some of its residents. But the
panel's report reflected confidence in the home's new leadership, while
suggesting that problems perhaps could have been fended off if there
were better oversight of the home's staff.
The findings are contained in a three-page report issued by the Joint
Select Committee to Investigate Operations and Conditions at the Arizona
Veteran Home.
The panel was formed last spring, when a critical state Health
Department audit highlighted instances of neglect at the home.
Specifically, the audit documented a patient who was smoking repeatedly
without supervision, creating a case of "immediate jeopardy" at the
home.
The auditors also documented problems with patient call lights that went
unanswered, patients who were left to sit in soiled underwear for hours,
and a resident who wandered off the premises unbeknownst to staffers,
only to return intoxicated.
Lawmakers began to ask questions when it was revealed that Gov. Janet
Napolitano's staff had been notified of the problems six weeks before
they were made public through news reports. Officials in the Governor's
Office said they didn't need to publicize the audit because many of the
difficulties had already been resolved.
The controversy broke at the same time that national media were
reporting on decrepit conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center
in Washington, D.C.
Testimony before the legislative panel made it clear that while the
Walter Reed situation was chronic, the Arizona problems were not
longstanding.
And although lawmakers were quick to allocate $3.5 million to the home,
the oversight panel concluded that getting the Legislature involved in
overseeing the home's operations might avert future problems.
The report noted that oversight currently is confined to the
administrative branch, through the Department of Veterans' Services and
the Health Department. It recommended that the Governor's Office work
with the Veteran Home and the Legislature to find ways to increase
oversight of all areas of the home. That could cover everything from
resident care to equipment, the report stated.
The report reflects the work of the 14-member committee, which consisted
of members of the House and Senate.
State Rep. John Nelson, R-Litchfield Park, and state Sen. Jack Harper,
R-Surprise, led the committee.
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Larry Scott --
