Students at UAMS give vets free care

Beebe hails pact, NW home’s redo

FAYETTEVILLE -- As part of an effort to cut expenses and improve care at the state's only veterans home, students with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences will now provide free treatment to residents, Gov. Mike Beebe announced Wednesday.

The Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, which oversees the Fayetteville Veterans Home, hosted an event at the home Wednesday morning to announce the new affiliation with UAMS' northwest branch and celebrate what Beebe called a "turnaround" in the home's operation.

"If you compare where we were to where we are, it accentuates the progress that has been made here," Beebe told a crowd of legislators, UAMS administrators, as well as staff members and residents of the home. "This is an atmosphere and an operation that appears to be on the way to being sustainable."

Peter Kohler, vice chancellor of UAMS Northwest, said the partnership will be mutually beneficial: UAMS students in pharmacy, medicine, nursing and physical therapy will practice long-term care, and the veterans home will not be charged for their services. The connection is natural, he said, because UAMS Northwest is currently a landlord to the veterans home, which occupies an annex and the top two floors of the six-story building.

Eight UAMS students began their residencies at the veterans home three weeks ago, with each student taking on two patients. The number of students is expected to grow on an as-needed basis, said Kriss Schaffer, the home's administrator.

"If a patient needs an assessment for speech therapy, one of the students can come do it, and we won't be charged," Schaffer said. "It will save money. It's impossible to tell right now, but it could end up saving us quite a bit."

Since 2012 when the Little Rock Veterans Home closed, the Fayetteville facility has been the only veterans home in the state. A site for a new home has been selected in North Little Rock near the Eugene J. Towbin Health Care Center, formerly called Fort Roots, which serves as a primary care facility for veterans.

The Fayetteville home's affiliation with UAMS is part of an overhaul that started after Sarah Robinson, the previous administrator, was fired in November after a resident escaped from the facility unnoticed.

During Robinson's 11 months as administrator, the Fayetteville Veterans Home was cited by the state Office of Long Term Care four times, including allegations of neglect, failing to file reports and staff members providing false reports. In 2012, the Office of Long Term Care cited the home for 22 patient-care violations. Problems then included medication errors, unsanitary conditions and cold or inedible food.

The home has also faced recent financial difficulties. After Robinson was fired, it was discovered that the facility owed $236,000 in unpaid bills, its occupancy had declined 18 percent from the previous year and it was operating at a monthly deficit of $84,000.

Hiring Schaffer in January was one of the first actions in an overhaul of the Fayetteville home, said Cissy Rucker, director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs.

In the past seven months, the home has gained a new chef, cut three "redundant" administrative positions and hired nurses, certified nursing assistants and housekeepers, Schaffer said.

"When I first started, you could cut the tension with a knife," he said. "We had a tarnished reputation. We've now improved communication, and we're all working better together."

An improved relationship with the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, which refers patients to the home, has helped to increase the number of residents in recent months, thus making the home profitable, Schaffer said.

The veterans home -- funded through Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements -- has the capability to house 108 residents and requires 75 to break even. In January, its census was 62. By July, that number had increased to 77, and Schaffer announced Wednesday that it had risen to 82.

Rucker was applauded Wednesday when she said the home ended the fiscal year with enough money to pay its bills.

She said inspectors from the Office of Long Term Care made an unannounced visit in May and made no citations, giving the veterans home its best-ever survey results.

"Today we can all smile and say, 'Yeah, we had a lot of problems but we're fixing it,'" Rucker said. "It's not like today is us saying, 'OK, we've done a good job and now it's over.' This is just a beginning."

Gayle Bressler, 78, has been a resident of the Fayetteville Veterans Home for more than four years. The Korean War veteran said Wednesday that she's seen improvements in recent months, most notably an increase in the nursing staff.

"They have done a lot of real good changes," Bressler said. "There are more activities, the food has improved. I've been painting and crafting a lot more. They were short staffed before. They just didn't have the people to help us."

In a brief speech Wednesday, Rucker that said more changes are in the works.

Schaffer is developing plans to remodel parts of the home once it has banked some profit. He hopes to take over the now-empty fourth floor of the UAMS Northwest building to house residents with memory loss and provide more space for activities. His plans also include adding a kitchen, providing a bereavement room and reorganizing the dining area.

"The possibilities are endless, " Schaffer said. "Right now, it's a dream."

A section on 08/14/2014

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