First Senator Wiggins commented on conditions at the Veterans Home Holderman Hospital without ever visiting it. Now an outside group which has never had a tour of the hospital are making unsubstantiated claims.
Yes, we do not have enough nurses, but neither does any other facility in the state of California. Yountville is even more affected because of the high cost of living in the Napa Valley. The nurses' pay at the Veterans Home is too low; lower than prison system nurses. That is not a fault of the Veterans Home, CDVA or the Governor. The Legislature needs to make veterans a priority.
I've read the audit. I doubt that these people have or they would have seen that the "unresolved problems" included a broken soda machine and a towel dispenser that dispensed too many towels at a time. Neither jepardize the health and welfare of the residents.
The current leadership at the Veterans Home is wonderful. The Administrator has an "open door" policy so that all residents have access to voice compliments or complaints. Complaints are acted upon quickly. In addition, Administrator McCormack has resolved to make the once rigid and sterile atmosphere of the Veterans Home more home-like and inviting. She and her staff are succeeding.
As far as improvements are concerned, I'm not a Republican so I was very surprised that things have greatly improved since Governor Schwartzenegger has been in office. The Governor has said he has a commitment to the veterans and he is proving it. The CDVA staff have visited the Veterans Home on a regular basis and are more responsive than any CDVA staff in the past 10 years that I've been here. We have been very pleasantly surprised.
How do I know these people have not toured the hospital? The Veterans Home protects the rights and privacy of their residents. They would have not had access to tour the hospital without arranging it through the Public Information Office. Senator Wiggins had not made a tour of the hospital and neither has Dan Goulden, Bob Atterfield, Mike Schneer, Blake Jensen, Jay Campbell.

from Nancy Bueno, proud resident of the Veterans Home of California at Yountville