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INTERIM STUDY REPORT
Veterans and Military Affairs Committee
Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, Chairman
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Interim Study 12-059, Rep. Richard Morrissette (Combined with IS-12-073, Rep. Joe Dorman)
October 2, 2012
Reform of State Veterans Homes: addressing failures to protect those from abuse and neglect who so
honorably defended our nation.
Rep. Morrissette
• Study in Response to Journal Record stories about veteran nursing home failures.
See presentations a and b
Jim Lyall, Associate Director
Community Service Council
• Our country has been at war for 11 years and when veterans return, they are seeking assistance
from the community. Most are married and have children; the government needs to also take
care of the families.
• PTSD and physical disabilities are results of fighting wars for many soliders.
• Ideally, it is in everyone’s best interest to keep veterans out of homes.
• In Mr. Lyall’s opinion, Oklahoma lacks comprehensive statewide leadership to prioritize needs
of veterans and planning long term goals to establish response to our veterans.
o Military officials, legislative leaders and state agency leadership need to be collectively
invested in this commitment.
o US Veterans Department also needs to involved.
Kimberly Bowles, Assistant Administrator
Sulphur Veterans Center
• Provided an overview of center’s policy to respond to allegations of abuse. When a complaint
is received from a social worker, it is handed to administrator immediately, who works the
complaint.
• Allegations of abuse and neglect are reported to the appropriate division in DHS or relevant
licensing board (nursing license board if allegation is against a nurse).
• The center trains everyone to report any suspicions of abuse. It is not the employee’s job to
decide, it is their job to report.
• Most allegations do not end up being confirmed abuse.
• If an atmosphere of intimidation exists, as suggested by persons present at the meeting, the
proper response would be to educated employees from the top down. The more employees you
have, the more difficult it is to communicate effectively.

Okla State Agency	House of Representatives, Oklahoma
Okla Agency Code	'422'
Title	Reform of state veterans homes : addressing failures to protect those from abuse and neglect who so honorably defended our nation.
Alternative title	Interim study report
Authors	Morrisette, Richard. Dorman, Joe. Oklahoma. Legislature. House of Representatives. Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. Wesselhoft, Paul.
Publisher	Oklahoma House of Representatives
Publication Date	2012-10-02
Publication type	Interim Study Report to Governor or Legislature
Subject	Soldiers' homes--Oklahoma. Veterans--Oklahoma.
Purpose	After many reports of mistreatment, abuse and neglect of our veterans in state homes, investigations reveal little oversight to allow for vast differences in the quality and performance of care delivery in these facilities. Retired Air National Guard Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, Gov. Fallin’s cabinet secretary for veterans affairs, will testify, along with a representative from the Department of Veterans Affairs and dozens of advocates to include members of the Vietnam Veterans Assoc. and other support groups. The discussion will focus upon identifying policy and procedural failures, funding and the need for improved oversight to protect our treasured veterans.
Contents	Report; Agenda; "Mission failure: abuse, neglect prevalent at many state veterans homes" M. Scott Carter, Bob Sands (The journal record 2012-05-03); "WVC chairman: lack of oversight led to problems in veterans systems" M. Scott Carter (The journal record 2012-08-22); "Aragon: restore state inspections of veterans centers" M. Scott Carter (The journal record 2012-09-24); "Staff members of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs hid more than $9 million in federal funds..." (The journal record); "Records: Claremore Veterans Center cited for noncompliance" M. Scott Carter (The journal record 2012-10-01); "Summary of written testimony and background presented to Senator Frank Simpson plus new information" Mike Simmons, NVC resident; "Violation of veteran resident HIPAA rights" Susan Simmons to Representative Richard Morrissette 2012-09-27; Sign-in sheet
Series	Oklahoma. Legislature. House of Representatives. Interim study ; 12-059
OkDocs Class#	L1305.7 I61s 12-059
For all issues click	L1305.7 I61s 2012
Digital Format	PDF, Adobe Reader required
ODL electronic copy	Downloaded from agency website: http://www.okhouse.gov/Documents/InterimStudies/2012/12-059%20report.doc
Rights and Permissions	This Oklahoma state government publication is provided for educational purposes under U.S. copyright law. Other usage requires permission of copyright holders.
Language	English
Date created	2012-12-18
Date modified	2012-12-18

Title	12-059 report ocr 1
Full text	INTERIM STUDY REPORT Veterans and Military Affairs Committee Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, Chairman Oklahoma House of Representatives Interim Study 12-059, Rep. Richard Morrissette (Combined with IS-12-073, Rep. Joe Dorman) October 2, 2012 Reform of State Veterans Homes: addressing failures to protect those from abuse and neglect who so honorably defended our nation. Rep. Morrissette • Study in Response to Journal Record stories about veteran nursing home failures. See presentations a and b Jim Lyall, Associate Director Community Service Council • Our country has been at war for 11 years and when veterans return, they are seeking assistance from the community. Most are married and have children; the government needs to also take care of the families. • PTSD and physical disabilities are results of fighting wars for many soliders. • Ideally, it is in everyone’s best interest to keep veterans out of homes. • In Mr. Lyall’s opinion, Oklahoma lacks comprehensive statewide leadership to prioritize needs of veterans and planning long term goals to establish response to our veterans. o Military officials, legislative leaders and state agency leadership need to be collectively invested in this commitment. o US Veterans Department also needs to involved. Kimberly Bowles, Assistant Administrator Sulphur Veterans Center • Provided an overview of center’s policy to respond to allegations of abuse. When a complaint is received from a social worker, it is handed to administrator immediately, who works the complaint. • Allegations of abuse and neglect are reported to the appropriate division in DHS or relevant licensing board (nursing license board if allegation is against a nurse). • The center trains everyone to report any suspicions of abuse. It is not the employee’s job to decide, it is their job to report. • Most allegations do not end up being confirmed abuse. • If an atmosphere of intimidation exists, as suggested by persons present at the meeting, the proper response would be to educated employees from the top down. The more employees you have, the more difficult it is to communicate effectively.
Date created	2012-12-18
Date modified	2012-12-18

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