VETERANS HOME MARKS 10TH YEAR

The semi-private room where Henry Tipton lives at the Missouri Veterans Home isn't large, but Tipton says he's happy there.

He shows off the bulletin board above his bed that's filled with pictures of his family. On top of a small refrigerator sits a boom box playing big-band dance music. A table is filled with small vials of paint Tipton uses to create sun catches, several of which hang in the window.

"Other places are too expensive," Tipton said when asked why he chose the Veterans Home. "And I gave Uncle Sam's Army quite a few years."

Today the Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the admission of its first resident. In that time, it has been providing long-term care on a sliding fee scale for Missourians like Tipton who have served active duty in the U.S. military.

"For many of these veterans, their only other option would be what Medicare would pay for, and they wouldn't get the quality of service they get at the Veterans Home," said Ron Taylor, superintendent of services and cemeteries at the Missouri Veterans Commission. The commission oversees the Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau and the six other veterans homes in Missouri.

Taylor said the need for homes to provide residential care for veterans became apparent in the early 1980s when the veterans of World War II, in which 16,535,000 Americans served, began to reach an age when they would need long-term care.

"At that time, the only veterans home in the state was in Mount Vernon," Taylor said.

As federal money became available that would help with the building of residential care facilities for veterans, the Missouri legislature decided to spread the facilities around the state, Taylor said.

"The feeling was that smaller facilities placed in different areas of the state would allow veterans to remain close to their families," Taylor said.

Cape Girardeau County Commissioners actively lobbied to bring the Veterans Home to this area and donated the land the building now sits on, said Ken Lipps, who is in charge of volunteer services, public relations and fund raising at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs paid 80 percent of the $13 million to build the local facility, with the rest coming from the state of Missouri, Lipps said.

The 150-bed facility was dedicated on May 12, 1990 with its first resident was admitted on June 26, 1990.

The facility is operated by the state and its 170 employees, with a payroll of about $3.5 million per year, are state employees. But the state pays only about 20 percent of the $6,000,000 annual operating cost at the Veterans Home, Lipps said. The per diem of $55.55 per resident that the Department of Veterans Affairs pays makes up 48 percent of the budget. The remainder comes from fees residents pay.

Those fees are based on a sliding scale based on income and assets, but the maximum is $1,270 per month and there are some indigent residents who are not charged, Lipps said.

While the fee charged for care at the Veterans Home is lower than that charged by most long-term care facility, Lipps said the quality of care is excellent. This is due to a combination of factors, he said.

Government funds allow the staff-to-patient ratio to be lower than at most nursing homes. A quality assurance program instituted by Administrator Sam McVay sets high standards for patient care and maintaining the facility. A large number of volunteers and donations provide many extras for the residents.

"One of the most valuable things we have here is our volunteers," said Lipps as he watched volunteers provide karaoke music and root beer floats for a roomful of veterans on a recent afternoon.

He said there are 262 volunteers who do such jobs as operate the information desk and the canteen, put up holiday decorations, deliver ice and water, push residents in wheel chairs and take them on excursions. About 40 volunteers are in Stephen Ministries, which meets the spiritual needs of resident veterans, Lipps said.

"Volunteers provide things private nursing homes just can't do," Taylor said.

Donations, about 90 percent of which come from veterans organizations, are used to buy recreational items and pay for excursions that the state doesn't pay for; purchase personal items for indigent patients; and allow the "Edenization" of the facility.

Lipps explained "Edenization" (as in garden of Eden) is an effort to keep residents in touch with nature through outside gardens and fountains and inside potted plants, fish tanks and even an aviary.

Lipps said the facility in Cape Girardeau is considered one of the top five of the 102 veterans homes in the nation.

Because of this, there is a waiting list for those wanting to get into the Cape Girardeau Veterans Home, Lipps said. The length of the wait depends on the level of care the patient needs.

The home is divided into three wings, one for those who need a low level of care, one for those who are bed-ridden and need more care and a special care unit for those suffering from Alzheimer's or other types of dementia, Lipps said.

"The longer lists are for beds in the higher needs units," Lipps said.

Taylor said veterans homes like the one in Cape Girardeau are important because they recognize the sacrifice and commitment of veterans.

VETERANS HOME ANNIVERSARY ACTIVITIES

The following activities will be held at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau Monday in honor of the 10th anniversary of the admission of its first resident:

10 a.m., posting of the colors, remarks by Administrator Sam McVay.

10:30 a.m. to noon, public tours of the facility.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m., barbecue and musical entertainment for residents.

2 p.m., ice cream social for residents..

2:30 p.m. bingo for residents, who will be assisted by crew members of the USS Black Hawk, which is docked in Cape Girardeau on a Navy promotional tour.