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GOVERNOR APPOINTS PANEL TO OVERSEE MINNESOTA
VETERANS HOME -- The group will take a
long-term approach
to finding ways to best serve veterans at all
five state homes.
Minnesota Veterans Home
Background with backlinks here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAR07/nf031107-9.htm
Story here...
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/
display/web/2007/04/06/vetshomepanel/
Story below:
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Pawlenty appoints panel to oversee Veterans
Home
by Toni Randolph, Minnesota Public Radio
Gov. Pawlenty has named a panel of seven people to examine problems at
the Minnesota Veterans Homes.
St. Paul, Minn. — The governor created the Veterans Long Term Care
Advisory Commission days after the state began a new round of fines
against the Minneapolis home for two uncorrected problems cited during a
February reinspection.
The commission includes presidents of three long-term care corporations,
a health insurer, two researchers from the University of Minnesota and a
former administrator of the Minneapolis home.
Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung says the group will take a long-term
approach to finding ways to best serve veterans at all five state homes.
"This is a group of experts and individuals who have worked with
veterans, worked in the long-term care business, who can step back and
try to examine what have been the ongoing long-term problems and how can
we best solve these," said McClung.
The commission will be chaired by Dale Thompson, president and CEO of
the Benedictine Health System based in Duluth, which manages 10
hospitals, more than 50 nursing home and several other housing options
for older people.
Thompson says the commission will do more than just come up with
solutions to fix problems at the Minneapolis Home.
"I think it's beyond just, how do we fix these regulatory compliance
issues. It's sort of, what does it take to keep them fixed?" Thompson
says. "What happens in a long-term care setting when everything is
working very well, and what can we learn from those settings that can
help the Minnesota Veterans Home stay in compliance?"
The other six members of the commission are:
*Kathryn Roberts of Stillwater, president and CEO of Ecumen, which
operates independent and assisted living housing and care centers
throughout the Midwest.
*Rosalie Kane of Minneapolis, a University of Minnesota professor of
public health and member of the Center for Biomedical Ethics, School of
Social Work and the Center on Aging.
*Tom Mullon of Eagan, former director of the Federal Veterans
Administration Medical Center and former administrator of the
Minneapolis Veterans Home. He is also a member of the American Legion.
*Leslie Grant of Minneapolis, associate professor of Healthcare
Management, and director of the Center for Aging Services Management at
the University of Minnesota.
*Nancy Feldman of Minneapolis, president and CEO of UCare Minnesota, the
state's fourth largest health plan serving 130,000 senior, disabled and
low-income individuals.
*Jim Birchem of Little Falls, president and CEO of Eldercare of
Minnesota, which owns four nursing homes and eight assisted living
facilities. He is also a member of the American Legion.
The Minneapolis home has been plagued with problems in recent months.
The state recently imposed fines totaling $37,000 for delays in
addressing problems found in an inspection last fall.
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Larry Scott --
