"Every day this game goes on, people are actually physically getting hurt. This is about patient care."

NOTE from Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org ... Coming soon to a state near you!  For more about how the bad economy is impacting veterans, refer to our Sign of the Times page.

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Impasse keeps state veterans from being admitted to Veterans' Home System

By Mike Cronin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

The state budget impasse probably has kept between 50 and 60 veterans from being admitted to the Pennsylvania State Veterans' Home System during the past two weeks, according to a government spokesman.

The vets are at the top of a waiting list of about 400 people, Kevin Cramsey of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. About 1,600 disabled and chronically ill veterans and their spouses live in the system's six homes.

"Every day this game goes on, people are actually physically getting hurt," said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Hal Donahue of Scranton, who advocates for vets' rights. "This is about patient care."

Lawmakers and Gov. Ed Rendell are trying to close a $3.2 billion deficit through higher taxes and/or spending cuts. Nurses in the veterans' homes are among thousands of state workers who are not being paid for days worked since the impasse began July 1.

The Pennsylvania Soldiers and Sailors Home in Erie became the first to open in 1885. Pittsburgh's home in Lincoln-Lemington opened in 1997. It has 236 beds. The Delaware Valley Veterans Home in Philadelphia is the newest home. It opened in 2002.

Last year, the system operated on a budget that included state appropriations of $80 million, Cramsey said. Its proposed budget for this year includes about $77.5 million in appropriations, but the Senate has proposed cutting that by $7.6 million, Donahue said.

The total budget would be $166 million, Cramsey said. That includes $58 million in federal funding and $30 million in per diem collections from residents of the homes.

"That would mean the closure of another 400 beds," said Kim Patterson, the Canonsburg-based secretary-treasurer of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the union that represents nurses in the veterans' homes. "It would also eliminate $5.9 million in federal matching funds and the loss of about 150 positions for people who provide veterans care."

Cramsey said the department plans to resume admission as soon as a budget agreement is reached. The ultimate size of any reductions could change that, however.

"If a lot of money is cut, we'll have some hard decisions to make," Cramsey said.

That's going to affect local veterans deeply, said Mike Murphy, executive assistant at Allegheny County Veterans' Services

The top priority should be taking care of vets, said John Panichella, director of Westmoreland County Veterans Affairs.

"These are people up in age on fixed incomes," Panichella said. "Both sides need to reach some kind of agreement because this is getting out of hand."

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TOPICS: veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, bad economy