Gov. Bob Ferguson tours Walla Walla Veterans Home, meets residents
Credit: Greg Lehman, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
A hero’s welcome greets every new resident who moves into the Walla Walla Veterans Home, 94 Wainwright Drive.
Administrator Lonna Leno said the sidewalks are lined with flags and the anthem of the honoree’s branch of service plays. Employees and members of the resident council thank them for their service.
“We know that coming into the nursing home isn’t everybody’s — you know, they’re not always excited about it,” she said, “but to start out with a warm, respectful welcome,” makes a difference.
Leno led Gov. Bob Ferguson on a Wednesday, June 18, tour of the eight houses that make up the Walla Walla Veterans Home after a roundtable event where residents had a chance to ask questions and share feedback with the visiting governor.
During the tour, Ferguson shared some of his family’s history and ties to the military. He said his father was in the Navy, both his grandfathers served in conflicts, uncles and other family members generations back have served. He also lost a veteran family member to suicide.
“Issues linked to veterans have just always been of great interest to me throughout my time in public life and certainly my new role as governor,” he said. “(I) have a chance to hopefully be helpful in a different way with a different role.”
Ferguson also attended a Walla Walla Sunrise Rotary meeting early Wednesday and had a private economic development meeting with the Port of Walla Walla.
Leno said each building in the veterans' home complex has the same general layout — 10 private rooms and a social living space, kitchen and dining area with a fireplace, comfortable seating, puzzles, tables and more — with small variations depending on the type of care offered. In the memory care home, for example, the bedroom doors are lockable for the residents’ safety.
Sitting in front of his private room at the Walla Walla Veterans Home, veteran Fraser Rasmussen chats with Gov. Bob Ferguson during a tour of the facility.
Greg Lehman, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
“It’s a beautiful spot, oh my gosh,” Ferguson said on his way through the living room of the Hudson house.
Beside each resident’s door is a laminated sign with their name, branch of service and things they want to share about themselves.
“As visitors come in, or new staff, they have talking points or conversation starters,” Leno said.
Medicaid
On the tour, Ferguson saw a vacant room that a new resident will move into soon. The bed was made, with a blue crochet throw folded at the end.
The facility can accommodate 80 residents and is normally at capacity. There were three beds open as of Wednesday, Leno said, with more than 50 people on the waiting list.
A little less than half of the residents at the Walla Walla Veterans Home are what’s called “service connected,” meaning their care is paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs. For any veteran that receives 70% or more of their services through the VA, the cost of their long-term care is paid by the VA.
Another segment of veterans' home residents, again a little less than half, are on specific Medicaid for long-term care. A small number are funded privately.
Resident Dave Kidgell said during the roundtable event that he is a Vietnam-era veteran who is not service connected — he’s there on Medicaid and Social Security.
“If there are big Medicaid cuts, is there a chance I get wheeled out of here?” he asked.
“Well, we would do everything we could to avoid that happening,” Ferguson replied.
He said the budget proposal passed by the U.S. House eliminates about $2 billion of Medicaid funding in Washington state.
The House proposed trimming $700 billion total in Medicaid spending, and the bill is now in reconciliation, where the House and U.S. Senate must agree to a single plan from their separate proposals.
The state’s goal in the case there are cuts, Ferguson said, would be to keep as many Washingtonians receiving care as possible.
“There's not been a final vote. There's still negotiations going on. It does seem like they're heading for a vote that's going to have some pretty significant impacts on Medicaid,” Ferguson said. “That's why I mention it because I understand there are folks in this room who could be impacted by that.”
He said the majority of the state’s Medicaid dollars come from the federal government. He’s put together an internal work group to identify possible next steps and to present options for how he as governor can “keep as many folks as possible on Medicaid.”
Staffing
Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Director David Puente Jr. said he met with the federal Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins a couple of months ago, and Collins shared his priorities. Puente said those included making sure veterans and their families are connected to their benefits, including health care, focusing on suicide prevention and veterans without homes and making the federal VA more efficient.
“Part of that, he did say that they are going to be looking at reduction of employees,” Puente said.
Regionally, some outreach and engagement positions have been reduced, but those individuals have been able to find other jobs within the federal VA, Puente said. He said some federal employees have decided to take early retirement, and there are cuts to budgets.
He noted that veterans with appointments scheduled are sometimes being called and rescheduled because of staffing.
“There are staffing issues right now, from what I’m hearing,” he said.
Services and billing
Veteran Buddy Georgia asks Gov. Bob Ferguson a question about ongoing Veterans Administration billing and computer issues during a tour of the Walla Walla Veterans Home. Holding the microphone is David Puente Jr., director of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.
Greg Lehman, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Resident Buddy Georgia, a Vietnam veteran, raised a concern at the roundtable about billing errors that sometimes occur for service-connected vets visiting facilities outside the VA for needed services.
“When we outsource the community through Community Care or whatever it is, for veterans like myself, who are 100% service connected where we ordinarily wouldn't see a billing, it ends up in a loop between computer systems where no human being sees it,” Georgia said.
The bill goes out, it’s rejected, resubmitted until a final letter is sent to the resident saying the bill will go to collections, he said.
“For some of the people here that are perhaps a little older, a little less capable of dealing with it, they might not know any better and may end up trying to foot the bill for it themselves,” he said.
Georgia asked for a way to expedite the payment process to prevent it from reaching that point.
Puente said sharing agreements between the federal and state VA do change. He said he can take the question to the National Association of State Veterans Homes and ask how other states handle their sharing agreement and billing.
“I recognize that we do have a need for other specialty care, and we will need that sharing agreement,” Puente said.
Arts
One of the final stops on the tour was the patio off the main courtyard, which Leno said is an important gathering spot for residents. She said that it has been improved by a Wellness, Arts and the Military (WAM) grant through ArtsWA, the state’s Art Commission.
“Wonderful things have happened here because of that,” she said, including planters, soil and plant starts, as well as an outdoor TV that residents plan to use to watch sports and play video games on the patio in the courtyard.
Puente said Leno also used the funds to purchase a piano for residents, which she also plays. “She plays excellent piano,” another employee chimed in.
Kate Smth, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin