Florida Department of Veterans affairs wants more money for veteran nursing homes

6:52 News Story The Florida agency that helps aging American veterans in the state is asking for tens of millions in extra funding in the coming year from the Florida Legislature. The money is needed to help the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs staff and run veterans nursing homes around the state. The budget request suggests the agency is dealing with a growing population at its locations along with more extensive health care needs for veterans who reside in the homes. There also continues to be “staff turnover” and ongoing staffing shortages. “The composition of residents requiring nursing home care has dramatically changed to reflect increasing clinical acuity, fragility and behavioral needs,” the agency noted in its legislative budget request. Florida agencies were asked last month to submit budget requests. The requests are guidelines for lawmakers to consider when they get down to the business in their 2027 session of creating the next fiscal year budget. They will also be relied on by Gov.-elect Byron Donalds when he submits his budget recommendations next year. The agency, led by executive director James “Hammer” Hartsell, runs eight nursing homes and one assisted living facility and is funded by a blend of state and federal money. Its budget is nearly $241 million, according to this year’s Appropriations Act, and it has roughly 1,100 beds in its facilities. The department’s asks include nearly $16.6 million emergency repairs and maintenance at its nine locations, which vary in age from five to 37 years. According to the request, over the past decade the available money has “not been sufficient to fully address the department’s accumulated maintenance, repair and infrastructure needs.” Moreover, the agency said, it had to put its resources into salaries and staffing needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. That resulted “in capital improvements receiving less attention from 2020 to 2024.” “The State Veterans Homes have reached a point where extensive capital improvements are required,” the request states. The agency is also asking for extra money to pay for additional staff in several areas, including services to veterans, as well as bolster those who care for veterans in nursing homes. For example, the department is seeking $6.6 million to make sure they are providing required levels of nursing home care. “With the approval of this funding, the department will have sufficient budget authority to operate all facilities and fulfill its obligations in a timely manner and to ensure proper supplies are available for the veterans who reside in the State Veterans Nursing Homes,” the request states.