Committees have been meeting now for months in Preston and Spring Valley, gathering information and planning for the possibility of building a veterans home in their Fillmore County community.
Ron Scheevel and Don Gildner serve as co-chairs on the Preston committee. There is a competition between the two communities, each hoping to have the home built in their community. Scheevel, in a phone conversation, acknowledged the competition, but said, “No matter what, I hope we get one built in Fillmore County.” Robert Maust, Don Brockway, and Joe Hoffman were among the people from Preston that toured the home in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Three members of the Spring Valley Veterans Home committee lead by co-chair Bill Rohe also toured the facility on May 18.
The home in Chippewa Falls is a skilled nursing facility providing long term care for veterans and their spouses. It was chosen by the committees because it is only about four years old and likely the size and design of a potential home in Fillmore County. It was a $20 million project, of which 65% came from a federal grant. It provides 90 permanent jobs. It is the model that Veteran Affairs seems to favor.
Scheevel explained there is only one state government employee, the commandant. A private management company contracts out the day to day; hiring nurses, cooks, therapists, and so on. In Minnesota, employees would likely be state employees.
Scheevel and Gildner both were impressed with the facility, calling it well done. According to Scheevel, the home was very well kept, clean, well lighted and organized. The facility is full with a waiting list.
The home is 78,000 square feet, a single story structure with 72 private rooms. The floor plan has four pods/households with 18 private/single rooms in each household. Each room has a private bathroom/shower. Two households make up one of two “neighborhoods,” each with its own dining room. Each room has its own thermostat for temperature control; the average temperature chosen by members is 76 degrees. There is a common area between the households. Among the amenities are a library/computer, chapel, bistro, outdoor courtyard, and barber shop. In a wagon-wheel like design, member rooms are on the outside with a library in the interior. Hoffman said the home does not have the feel of an institution.
A full basement houses all the HVAC equipment and the kitchen. The location of the kitchen in the basement is one design element that has been questioned. Gilder explained there are two reasons it may be nicer to have the kitchen on the main floor: simplicity and cooking aromas. For some elderly people, maintaining adequate weight can be a problem. Cooking aromas can stimulate appetite.
After the Chippewa Falls facility was built with curb and gutter, the curb and gutter was all removed. The changes were made to eliminate trip hazards and to allow ease of movement for wheelchairs. These changes and drainage issues cost $184,000. Another improvement made after construction was the addition of a heat source in member bathrooms.
Visiting an established home allows the committees to learn from the planning mistakes of this home and how to avoid the same issues in planning and design.
Members have access to a fenced in garden/courtyard area. The facility has a good security system to protect members, as it alerts staff if a member went through a security door without a key card being swiped.
You can take a virtual tour of the Chippewa Falls Veterans Home at its website, http://dva.state.wi.us/Pages/veteransHomes/VeteransHomeCF.aspx. The home customizes treatment goals for each member.
A “needs assessment” was done by Preston, and Spring Valley later shared the cost. Hoffman said a feasibility study on the property where Preston hopes to locate a home has not been done at this time, as they are confident that the site would work for this facility.
In February, Fillmore County representatives testified before the Minnesota House Veterans Affairs Division. They demonstrated the need for a veterans home in southeast Minnesota. Bemidji and Montevideo are also working at the state level to get a veterans home in their community. Ten million dollars for “A New Veterans Home Fund” did not make it into the final budget bill approved by the legislature and sent to Governor Dayton during the 2017 special session. The funds were in the regular session budget bill that was passed and vetoed by the governor, but the funds were removed during special session negotiations.
The realization of a veterans home in Fillmore County is probably several years away, if at all. The process is arduous and will take patience and determination. It is a worthy goal.
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