Whereas the National Association of State Veterans Homes
was established in 1954 by a group of administrators of State veterans homes to
represent the interests of those homes in a unified voice before Congress and
the executive branch;
Whereas the National Association of State Veterans Homes
functions on an all-volunteer basis and focuses on endeavors that improve the
conditions of care furnished to veterans by State veterans homes, elevate and
monitor the qualifications for managers of such homes, and provide continuing
education standards for staff who provide care to veterans in such
homes;
Whereas the National Association of State Veterans Homes
has been and continues to be in the forefront of developing and supporting new
methods and models for providing long-term care services to elderly veterans,
such as hospice care, respite care, Alzheimer's care, and adult day health
care;
Whereas State veterans homes, which provide long-term care
to thousands of veterans, were established initially in the States of
Connecticut, Kansas, Ohio, and Maine in 1868 to house, feed, and care for
thousands of homeless, wounded, and permanently scarred Union soldiers and thus
have been in existence since before the establishment of the Department of
Veterans Affairs, the earlier Veterans' Administration, and its predecessor
agencies;
Whereas in 1888 Congress authorized the Federal payment of
a daily allowance for the care of each former soldier or sailor in a State
home-hospital, an allowance that continues today in the form of a per diem
grant program administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs;
Whereas the Department of Veterans Affairs further
participates in the care of veterans in State homes with a matching grant
program to support construction and major renovation projects to sustain those
homes and build towards sufficient levels of available, high-quality health
care;
Whereas State veterans homes offer long-term services to
eligible veterans in need of such services on certification of the Department
of Veterans Affairs at 119 facilities in 47 States and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico;
Whereas the States determine the allocation of nursing
home beds in individual State veterans home facilities, and establish the
eligibility of veterans and their dependents to occupy those beds, following
Federal guidelines;
Whereas within the limits of their capacities, State
veterans homes provide care for more than 27,500 veterans each day, accounting
for more than 50 percent of the total national long-term care bed capacity for
veterans, thereby sharing the enormous responsibility of caring for veterans
with the Department of Veterans Affairs in an admirable partnership;
Whereas State veterans homes provide quality care for
elderly and disabled veterans at an average daily cost that is significantly
less than nursing homes operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs;
Whereas the number of elderly veterans, particularly those
over age 85, continues to rise, and the need for long-term care services for
those veterans will continue to rise in the coming years; and
Whereas the Nation's State veterans homes continue to
achieve their purpose of improving and sustaining the health of elderly, sick,
and severely disabled veterans by assuring access to affordable nursing care in
settings that provide personal dignity to truly deserving veterans, often at
the end of lives spent in service to the Nation: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)honors the
National Association of State Veterans Homes and the 119 State veterans homes
providing long-term care to veterans that are represented by that association
for their significant contributions to the health care of veterans and to the
health care system of the Nation;
(2)commends the
thousands of individuals who work in, or on behalf of, State veterans homes for
their contributions in caring for elderly and disabled veterans;
(3)recognizes the
importance of the partnership between the States and the Department of Veterans
Affairs in providing long-term care to veterans; and
(4)affirms the
support of Congress for continuation of the State homes program to address the
known and anticipated needs of the Nation's veterans for institutional
long-term care services.