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Underfunded and understaffed, some state veterans homes are turning residents away

Amanda Eldridge, a certified occupational therapist assistant, works with a veteran at the state-run St. James Veterans Home in St. James, Missouri.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Amanda Eldridge, a certified occupational therapist assistant, works with a veteran at the state-run St. James Veterans Home in St. James, Missouri.

Labor shortages exacerbated by the pandemic have left facilities around the country with empty beds, even though veterans are on waiting lists hoping to move in.

Todd Callahan, a 50 year old disabled Navy veteran, loves living at the St. James Veterans Home in St. James, Missouri, about 100 miles southwest of St. Louis. He recommends it to his fellow veterans who need care.

“(The staff) is friendly, they’re nice. I get good care here,” Callahan said. “If there is an opening here, that would be good for (a veteran).”

But the St. James Veterans Home is not taking new residents, even though about half the beds are empty. Of the 185 jobs at the home, 75 are vacant, and that means the dozens of veterans on the waiting list can’t move in.

It’s a scenario that’s playing out in many states, and low pay is mainly to blame.

“It’s blatantly obvious that the pay is directly correlated to the staffing issues that we’re having,” said Brittany Ritter, administrator of the St. James Home.

Missouri pays certified nursing assistants between $12 and $14 per hour to work at the home, but other CNA jobs in the area are advertising $19-$20. The seven state run veterans homes in Missouri have seen a 91% turnover in CNAs over the past two years.

Navy veteran Todd Callahan. a St. James Veterans Home resident, recommends the facility to other veterans. But the home can't accommodate new residents because of a staff shortage.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Navy veteran Todd Callahan, a St. James Veterans Home resident, recommends the facility to other veterans. But the home can't accommodate new residents because of a staff shortage.

It’s a national problem, with California, Texas, Kentucky and Mississippi among the places with similar situations. Every state has at least one veterans home that's owned by the state government. They get federal funding to pay part of the operating costs, but states are expected to kick in money, too.

“Low levels of state funding and mandates on the level of care give the homes little choice but to serve fewer veterans,” said Heyward Hilliard, president of The National Association of State Veterans Homes.

The group doesn’t have specific numbers to quantify the extent of the problem, but Hilliard said it's widespread.

“It’s systemic and not getting better," he said. "And because every state is a little bit different, there has to be 50 solutions.”

In Missouri, the proposed solutions are coming from a few different angles, but they all involve changing the way the state budgets for veterans homes.

State Representative Dave Griffith has proposed dedicating half the state’s gaming revenue to veterans services. That would triple the amount the Missouri Veterans Commission, which oversees the homes and other veterans services, receives each year.

“It would solve a lot of problems for our veterans. Veterans who want to go into a Missouri veterans home have earned that right. And we should not deny them that right,” Griffith told a group of 150 veterans who traveled to the Missouri Capitol to lobby lawmakers.

Currently all of the state’s gaming revenue goes to education, and advocates for that cause are fighting against the proposed change.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson has proposed a 5.5% pay increase and a $15 minimum wage for state employees. That would make veterans home pay more competitive, but wouldn’t close the gap completely.

Some veterans advocates call that effort inadequate to attract workers.

“We had a job fair and had a lot of people graduating from college or moving from job to job in the nursing, CNA, LPN jobs,” said Charlie Gooden, a Vietnam veteran and lobbyist for the Missouri Association of Veterans Organizations. “And they listened rather intently and then it was almost a hang up, like, click.”

Alicia Mallady, a speech language pathologist, helps a veteran eat his lunch at the state-run St. James Veterans Home in St. James, Missouri.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Alicia Mallady, a speech language pathologist, helps a veteran eat his lunch at the state-run St. James Veterans Home in St. James, Missouri.

While the care at state run veterans homes can vary from state to state, the Missouri recently won “Best in Class” Customer Experience Awards from the Pinnacle Quality Insight company.

St. James Home employees said they're frustrated that more of the state’s veterans can’t get the care they deserve.

“These veterans treat you like they’re your family,” said Darla Nebel, Activities Director in the Alzheimer’s wing at St. James. “When I first started here I was told if you can’t treat them like your family, then honestly you don’t need to be here, because that’s part of (it). You have to treat these guys like they are part of your life and part of your family.”

Nebel said she works at the home to serve veterans, and the paycheck is secondary. But state run veterans homes are finding it hard to staff their facilities with people like her.

“Those people end up getting burnt out because they are having to work longer hours," Ritter said. "They are being mandated to stay. So it’s a vicious cycle with a negative outcome, unless we are able to change that direction."

This story was produced by the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans. Funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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Jonathan is the General Manager of Tri States Public radio. His duties include but are not limited to, managing all facets of the station, from programming to finances to operations. Jonathan grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago. He has a B.A in music theory and composition from WIU and a M.A in Public Affairs Reporting from The University of Illinois at Springfield. Jonathan began his journey in radio as a student worker at WIUM. While in school Jonathan needed a summer job on campus. He heard WIUM was hiring, and put his bid in. Jonathan was welcomed on the team and was very excited to be using his music degree. He had also always been interested in news and public radio. He soon learned he was a much better reporter than a musician and his career was born. While at WIUM, Jonathan hosted classical music, completed operations and production work, was a news reporter and anchor, and served as the stage manager for Rural Route 3. Jonathan then went to on to WIUS in Springfield where he was a news anchor and reporter covering the state legislature for Illinois Public Radio. After a brief stint in commercial radio and TV, Jonathan joined WCBU in Peoria, first in operations then as a news reporter and for the last ten years of his time there he served as the News Director. Jonathan’s last job before returning to Tri States Public Radio was as the News Director/ Co-Director of Content for Iowa Public Radio. During Jonathan’s off time he enjoys distance running, playing competitive Scrabble, rooting for Chicago Cubs, listening to all kinds of music and reading as much as he can. He lives in Macomb with his wife Anita and children Tommy and Lily.