Evey Weisblat

From: Jay Wood <jlwoody1966@gmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2024 8:15 AM
To: Evey Weisblat
Subject: Fwd: Part 1 - Veteran residents and family examples of NC DMVA failures

FYI

Date: Tue, Jan 30, 2024, 06:23

Subject: Part 1 - Veteran residents and family examples of NC DMVA failures
To: Sen. Jim Perry <Jim.Perry@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Norman Sanderson <Norman.Sanderson@ncleg.gov>,
Sen. Bobby Hanig <Bobby.Hanig@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Buck Newton <Buck.Newton@ncleg.gov>, Sen.
Kandie D. Smith <Kandie.Smith@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Michael Lazzara <Michael.Lazzara@ncleg.gov>, Sen.
Michael Lee <Michael.Lee@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Bill Rabon <Bill.Rabon@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Brent Jackson
<Brent.Jackson@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Benton Sawrey <Benton.Sawrey@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Lisa S. Barnes
<Lisa.Barnes@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Jim Burgin <Jim.Burgin@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Val Applewhite
<Val.Applewhite@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Natalie Murdock <Natalie.Murdock@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Tom McInnis
<Tom.McInnis@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Danny Britt <Danny.Britt@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Amy Galey
<Amy.Galey@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Phil Berger <Phil.Berger@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Michael Garrett
<Michael.Garrett@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Gladys Robinson <Gladys.Robinson@ncleg.gov>, Sen. David Craven
<David.Craven@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Steve Jarvis <Steve.Jarvis@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Joyce Krawiec
<Joyce.Krawiec@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Paul Lowe <Paul.Lowe@ncleg.gov>, Sen. Carl Ford
<Carl.Ford@ncleg.gov>, Jay Wood <jlwoody1966@gmail.com>, <warren.daniel@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Diane
Wheatley <Diane.Wheatley@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Charles Smith <Charles.Smith@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Frances
Jackson <Frances.Jackson@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Marvin Lucas <Marvin.Lucas@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Brenden
Jones <Brenden.Jones@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Jarrod Lowery <Jarrod.Lowery@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Garland
Pierce <Garland.Pierce@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Cynthia Ball <Cynthia.Ball@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Renee Price
<ReneeA.Price@ncleg.gov>, Rep. John Sauls <John.Sauls@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Ben Moss
<Ben.Moss@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Howard Penny <Howard.Penny@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Reece Pyrtle
<A.Reece.Pyrtle@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Wayne Sasser <Wayne.Sasser@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Brian Biggs
<Brian.Biggs@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Kanika Brown <Kanika.Brown@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Amber Baker
<Amber.Baker@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Jeff Zenger <Jeff.Zenger@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Donny Lambeth
<Donny.Lambeth@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Steve Tyson <Steve.Tyson@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Joe Pike
<Joe.Pike@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Matthew Winslow <Matthew.Winslow@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Gloristine Brown
<Gloristine.Brown@ncleg.gov>, MD <Timothy.Reeder@ncleg.gov>, Rep. John Bell
<John.Bell@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Chris Humphrey <Chris.Humphrey@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Celeste Cairns
<Celeste.Cairns@ncleg.gov>, Rep. George Cleveland <George.Cleveland@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Phil
Shepard <Phil.Shepard@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Carson Smith <Carson.Smith@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Frank Iler
<Frank.Iler@ncleg.gov>, Rep. Charles Miller <Charles.Miller@ncleg.gov>, <eric.ager@ncleg.gov>,
<rachel.ager@ncleg.gov>

Good AM to all; plz read this article, and use the power of your offices to hold NC
DMVA officers accountable, and investigate PruittHealth officials.
1
Fayetteville's North Carolina Veterans Home closure brings more questions than answers |
CityView (cityviewnc.com)

BY EVEY WEISBLAT | CityView Staff

How did the North Carolina State Veterans Home in Fayetteville go from being ranked among
the top nursing homes in the country in 2022 to the brink of closing its doors just a year later?

And what prompted the facility’s unexpected shutdown, and where will its former occupants go?

These are the types of questions that residents, family members and veteran advocates have
been grappling with since Nov. 21, when the N.C. Dept. of Military and Veteran Affairs (DMVA)
told residents and caregivers of the State Veterans Home it would be shutting down the facility
in a little over two months. The home is located at 214 Cochran Ave., Fayetteville, adjacent to
the Fayetteville VA Medical Center.

The DMVA manages five state-owned nursing homes in North Carolina, contracting with
PruittHealth, a for-profit healthcare company, to operate the facilities. The homes provide
veterans and qualifying family members a living space and in-patient medical treatment and
rehabilitation services, with costs that can be reduced with Veterans Affairs benefits.

As of this week, the DMVA said 17 of the initial 85 residents are still at the facility, which closes
Feb. 1.

In a Dec. 14 statement, the DMVA officially cited the building’s “significant repair needs and
structural deficiencies” as the reason for its decision, as well as features of the terrain that make
the structure prone to flooding and water intrusion. The DMVA estimates it will cost more than
$20 million to make the repairs. (In contrast, the newly constructed Kernersville State Veterans
Home — a two-hour trip northwest of Fayetteville — cost upwards of $27 million to build.)

“There is no immediate solution or long-term fix,” the DMVA’s statement said. “Given the
structural deficiencies, the high cost of repairs, and natural topography issues, the Department
decided to close and replace the facility.”

Family members of patients at the nursing home describe being blindsided by the news. Crystal
Pyle said her husband’s father was among the 85 patients at the facility, and the short notice of
the move had taken a toll on her family.

“It was a stressful time for him and us,” Pyle said in a message to CityView. “Very sad of what all
the veterans are having to go through.”

Pyle’s father-in-law died on Dec. 23. She said she believes the stress of the move contributed to
his death.
2
Renee Martin, whose 90-year-old father has dementia and resided in the memory care wing of
the State Veterans Home, said the journey to finding him a new home has been challenging on a
number of levels. Martin said she had to pay $3,500 upfront to reserve a spot for her dad at a
nearby nursing home, because none of the other state veterans homes had a guaranteed spot for
him, and she wasn’t comfortable having him stay too far away.

“I told my Dad I will never be far from him,” Martin said. “And he may not remember me saying
that, but I remember it, and I am his advocate … Sometimes it's not as easy as just, ‘Well, let's
transport your dad hours away,’ or ‘Let's say we're going to do this’ — when at this point, he's
not even guaranteed a spot.”

The DMVA’s decision to shut down the State Veterans Home has also drawn criticism from the
North Carolina Veterans Council (NCVC), a coalition of 17 veterans service groups in North
Carolina. The council lobbies for legislation to advance the interests of veterans in North
Carolina.

Jay Wood, the commander of the NCVC, said the group’s leadership has been unable to engage in
meaningful conversation with the DMVA on the issue, despite multiple attempts at collaboration.
He told CityView the NCVC and DMVA have had their differences in the past, but the agency has
never stonewalled them to this extent on an issue before.

“Our experience thus far is they've tried to do everything they can to keep us from participating,”
Wood told CityView, referring to discussions about the closure.

In response to CityView’s questions about the DMVA’s relationship and its recent communication
with the NCVC, the DMVA pointed to an email from Gaskin to Wood sent this Monday. In the
email, Gaskin described prior communications with Woods as “containing misinformation” and
unsubstantiated claims.

“One would hope that your service and position with such a needed organization, regardless of
your personal disagreement with a decision, would negate disparaging attempts on NCDMVA’s
commitment to veterans,” Gaskin wrote.

What prompted the shutdown?

The DMVA hasn’t released additional details to the public about the closure since its initial
announcement in November or in subsequent media responses. The department referred
CityView’s request for the nature of the “structural deficiencies” and “natural topography issues”
back to the initial Dec. 14 statement and an information sheet containing similar information
about the closure.

Gaskin visited the veterans home on Nov. 21 to announce the closure in a meeting with
residents and their caregivers. Several individuals with first-hand knowledge of the situation say
3
they were told in that meeting that the facility was being shuttered because of an extensive
mold problem.

A current employee at the veterans home, whom CityView is granting anonymity because of
concerns they will face retaliation, said the patients living there were told black mold was the
reason behind the closing.

“But it is being closed due to black mold that can be fixed for 30 million but can't guarantee that
it won't come back,” the employee said in a message to CityView. They said staff had placed
industrial-sized air purifiers around the facility in the months prior to the disclosure of the mold,
an observation corroborated by a resident of the facility and a family member of a resident in
comments to CityView.

CityView acquired a picture of one of the air purifiers, an air scrubber estimated to cost about
$4,000. The filtration system can capture a wide variety of air contaminants, including mold and
fungal spores.
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While Martin didn’t accompany her father to the Nov. 21 meeting, she said a close friend of
hers was present that day and had been told mold was the main reason for closing the facility.
She said the issue has not been brought up since.

“Nothing else has been said about mold from the facility since that meeting,” Martin said. “I have
not heard anything from any staff about it.”

Resident Samuel Richardson said he had learned from the conversation with the DMVA
representatives on Nov. 21 that mold was a significant problem. He said residents were told it
would cost between $25-27 million for the state to remove the mold, with no guarantee it would
stay gone.

For Richardson, the mold issue did not come as a shock. He said he began to suspect black mold
was growing throughout the facility after he temporarily needed to vacate his room for cleaning
upon finding mold in his shower. He said he had also experienced unexplained symptoms that
worsened over time, including headaches, blurry vision, sinus issues and throat discomfort,
which are frequent signs of mold toxicity.

Richardson said he confronted DMVA representatives and PruittHealth management at the Nov.
21 meeting, telling them they “threw under the bus” by not dealing with the mold problem
before. “If it was mold in the school for the children,” he recalled telling them, “they would have
been moved out.”

4
Richardson said his follow-up attempts to gain more information about the mold and speak with
PruittHealth staff about it have also been unsuccessful.

John McGee, a former resident of the home who left the facility in early 2020, said he also
noticed significant issues with ceiling leaks between 2018 and 2019 at the veterans home. He
said water frequently came down from the ceiling “like a hose was on.”

“The floors would be soaked,” McGee told CityView. “They clean up the floor, and they just leave
the ceiling tiles out. The ones that had busted, they would put off to the side, but they let it air
dry.”

McGee said residents had raised concerns about mold growing in the gap between the false
ceiling and the roof since he got to the facility in 2016, and that other maintenance problems
routinely went unrepaired, including leaks in individual patient rooms.

“Everybody knows when you have a gap directly under a roof and you got [it] wet — and
including all the material in that area above the ceiling — mold,” McGee said. “They were talking
about mold when I got there.”

The DMVA has denied the presence of mold in the facility.

“A recent test in November validates there is No Fungal Growth present in the State Veterans
Home Fayetteville (SVHF),” Tammy Martin, the DMVA director of communications, said in an
email to CityView Monday.

A former maintenance assistant at the State Veterans Home who resigned last month said they
were surprised and confused about the facility's closure. The maintenance staff kept the facility
in “tip-top shape,” the former employee said, though there were some repairs needed to stop
leaky ceilings in certain areas and to resolve minor kitchen issues.

“It kind of shocked me when they came out the blue and they said that they was closing facility
because of maintenance issues,” the former employee said, who also requested anonymity
because of retaliation concerns from PruittHealth, which is contracted to run the nursing home.

PruittHealth redirected CityView’s questions about the closing to the DMVA.

The former maintenance employee acknowledged major repairs were needed to address the
roof, but believes it would have cost in the hundreds of thousands, not millions, to fix it.

“It's going to cost a lot to get that roof repaired,” they said. “They're going to have to tear all that
out. There's been leaks all through the ceiling. … And it's probably going to cost them a pretty
penny because all that wood inside the attic is kind of rotted. And I was careful where I was
stepping on it, because one bad step, I was going to go through the roof.”
5
Still, the former employee did not see the roof as an insurmountable issue necessitating the
facility’s abandonment, but more of a financial burden that DMVA and PruittHealth may not want
to take on.

“Because that's a big fairy tale,” they said. “That facility is not in bad shape.”

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part series documenting the closing of the State Veterans
Home in Fayetteville, other issues that have cropped up during the move and oversight concerns
about the DMVA, raised by veterans advocacy groups.

Contact Evey Weisblat at cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.

In His Service,

Jay Wood
J.C. Wood, Jr.
Commander
North Carolina Veterans Council
980-866-1328
jlwoody1966@gmail.com