TR PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM. Rep. Sue Cahill (D-Marshalltown) speaks during a protest outside the Iowa Veterans Home on July 17. On Tuesday, Cahill wrote a letter to State Auditor Rob Sand demanding a comprehensive audit of the facility after a controversial restructuring plan went into effect on Aug. 15.
Democratic Rep. Sue Cahill, who represents Marshalltown and southeast Marshall County in the Iowa House of Representatives, has formally requested that State Auditor Rob Sand investigate the Iowa Veterans Home (IVH) in light of recent staffing changes.
IVH, a state facility that opened in 1887 in northwest Marshalltown, is home to about 400 residents and is also one of the city’s largest employers, with about 700 employees. On July 8, leadership at the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs announced a restructuring effective Aug. 15 that eliminated 11 positions, primarily in the activities division, and reduced four positions from full-time to part-time. The number of on-site chaplains at IVH was also reduced from two to one.
In her letter to Sand, Cahill, who was first elected in 2020, expressed concerns about the fact that lawmakers allocated an additional $1 million for IVH during the last session, and she said the changes were made without input from lawmakers.
“Veterans have sacrificed so much for our country and we must ensure they receive the best care and respect possible in their later years. I am calling on the State Auditor to ensure the Iowa Veterans’ Home meets the highest standards of care and transparency,” she said. “This call to action follows cuts that undermine the quality of care our veterans deserve, as most of these positions dealt directly with residents in recreational facilities. These cuts are contrary to the Veterans Home’s mission to provide Iowa’s veterans and their spouses with continuity of care in an environment focused on individualized services to improve their quality of life.”
Fellow Democrat Mike Wolfe of Maxwell, who is running for Senate District 26, which includes all of Marshall and most of Story County, expressed his support for Cahill’s motion in a statement to TR.
“Our veterans have served Iowa and our nation. We must fulfill our duty to care for them and recognize that service. The Iowa Veterans Home must justify its staff cuts and reductions in veterans programs,” Wolfe said. “The Iowa Department of Treasury currently holds a $2 billion treasury. Iowans deserve an explanation as to why cuts are necessary to this important service when our coffers are so full.”
In a press release announcing the request, Cahill said she hopes the audit will include “a detailed investigation to determine why these positions were eliminated, how the quality of care at the facility has deteriorated as a result of the cuts, and how to improve the overall management of this important facility.”
In a brief interview afterwards, she told TR that she hoped the results would be clean and show that the IVH management was spending the money allocated to the institution wisely.
Karl Lettow, communications specialist for the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs, responded to the news with his own statement Tuesday afternoon, pointing out that all but three of the affected employees had been hired for other positions at IVH.
“We are aware of the press release calling for an audit. We just received the results of our annual state audit for fiscal year 2023 with no discrepancies and are already in the process for fiscal year 2024. We always fully cooperate as part of an audit engagement,” Lettow said. “Our new structure is designed to improve service delivery to our residents. Unfortunately, there has been misinformation throughout the transition and the main points of the press release also appear to be false and factually incorrect. The claims that 11 employees were laid off and the realignment would negatively impact our quality of care are objectively and demonstrably false.”
He then pointed out that new jobs were created at the same time, a fact which, according to Lettow, had been “consistently and selectively omitted by several sources”.
“Ultimately, the vast majority of affected employees filled the new positions created by the realignment, and three were promoted. Three more will pursue other opportunities, but IVH currently has several open positions,” he said. “Our employees make the Iowa Veterans Home the best place in Iowa for our veterans and their spouses. Thanks to them, we have achieved and maintained a 5-star rating from the CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid) since 2016, meaning IVH has been in the top 10 percent of long-term care facilities in the U.S. for eight years in a row. Any change we even consider must improve our home for our residents or employees. Our realignment is already proving to improve our service delivery and quality of care. By providing more than 30 supportive activities for employees, direct interaction with residents has actually improved. We invite anyone interested to come visit and see for themselves.”
In a brief statement, Democrat Sand said his office would review the request and “make a decision on how we can move forward to ensure Iowa’s veterans receive the best possible care and taxpayer dollars are spent as intended and in accordance with the law.”
Republican David Blom of Marshalltown, who is running against Cahill for the House’s 52nd District seat, told TR it “makes sense” to be transparent about veterans’ care, but added the situation also highlights the need for a new representative.
“Marshall County has long needed a representative based in Des Moines to properly advocate for our veterans,” he said. “At the Statehouse, I will fight for resources for our veterans who deserve the utmost respect, gratitude and support when they return home.”
At press time, her Republican colleague Kara Warme of rural Ames, who is running with Wolfe for the seat in District SD26 that was vacated by the resignation of incumbent Jeff Edler (R-State Center), had not responded to a request for comment.
Less than a week after the personnel changes were announced, a large and at times controversial protest took place on the IVH campus on July 17, with demonstrators demanding cuts in upper management rather than in top positions and verbal altercations with Commander Todd Jacobus in front of the Sheeler administration building.
