May 21, 2013

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Branstad says critics of Veterans Home commandant are politically motivated

May 13, 2013 By

Governor Branstad is suggesting critics of the Iowa Veterans Home’s commandant are engaged in a political witch hunt.

Branstad has repeatedly defended the way Commandant David Worley is managing the home in Marshalltown, however late last week Branstad named a retired Iowa National Guard Brigadier General to be the home’s chief operating officer and oversee the “day-to-day” management of the Veterans Home..

“She can help Commandant Worley address some,” Branstad told reporters this morning, but he didn’t finish that sentence before he moved on to another. “And I would also say, you know, most importantly the veterans who are residents of that home get the best possible care and we are confident that is the case. We want to make sure it continues to be.”

The state senator who represents Marshalltown has called on the governor to place the commandant on paid administrative leave while questions about his management are investigated, but Branstad said that won’t happen.

“I think this has got a lot to do with politics and I think it’s got a lot to do with personalities,” Branstad said this morning. “But the fact is I think we have a very dedicated public servant and I guess I don’t appreciate people using character assassination and attacking people with second-hand information.”

About a dozen former employees and members of the Marshalltown residents voiced their concerns about Commandant Worley during a legislative hearing last week, accusing Worley of being a bully. That testimony hasn’t convinced Branstad there’s a problem.

“There’s a lot of second-hand information and a lot of hearsay that people have repeated,” Branstad said.

A state long-term care advocate who met with 11 residents of the home in January told lawmakers the residents told her they feel as if the home has turned into a prison and they are afraid of Worley. The governor told reporters he’s never heard of that meeting and the concerns raised by the residents.

Branstad discussed this subject during his weekly news conference. Find the audio here.

Filed Under: Featured Story, Military, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

New Iowa Veterans Home manager had not heard of staff, patient complaints (AUDIO)

May 8, 2013 By

The newly-appointed chief operating officer for the Iowa Veterans Home did not give any hints of the home’s pending management change when she testified before legislators Monday.

Governor Branstad announced Tuesday that Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs director Jodi Tymeson will become chief operating officer of the Veterans Home on May 28. On Monday afternoon Tymeson spent 12 minutes speaking before a legislative committee hearing which aired complaints about the commandant of the Veterans Home.

AUDIO of Tymeson’s testimony 12:00

“I really came here today to listen,” Tymeson told lawmakers. “…I always appreciate hearing from veterans and concerned Iowans on issues that affect veterans.”

Tymeson did make a point of praising the people we now know she will soon supervise.

“It’s been my experience when I’ve been at the Veterans Home there is great staff there doing good work for our veterans,” Tymeson said.

Tymeson is a “non-voting member” of the Iowa Commission on Veterans Affairs which oversees the facility, but Tymeson told lawmakers she merely received “updates” from the commandant of the Veterans Home. Four different senators asked Tymeson if she knew about the employee grievances or patient complaints that were aired at Monday’s hearing.

“We’ve heard from some very specific people today and I had not heard their story before,” Tymeson told one senator. “I think that’s the way I want to answer that.”

Tymeson has been director of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs since early 2011. She served a decade in the Iowa House as a Republican representing the Winterset area.

Read more about the governor’s Tuesday afternoon announcement here and listen to the audio from Monday’s hearing here.

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Governor makes management change at Iowa Veterans Home

May 7, 2013 By

The governor is dispatching one of his department directors to take over as the chief operating officer at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

The move comes about 24 hours after a variety of concerns about Iowa Veterans Home Commandant David Worley were aired at a legislative hearing, but Tim Albrecht — a spokesman for Governor Branstad – said Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs director Jodi Tymeson is taking on a newly-created role at the Veterans Home, and Worley will be her boss.

“He will be the name, the voice, the face and the person who creates the overall vision of the Iowa Veterans Home,” Albrecht told reporters. “…General Jodi Tymeson is going to oversee the day-to-day efforts. She’s going to oversee the departments and the staff who work within those departments to ensure that those residents of the Iowa Veterans Home get the care they deserve and the care that Iowans expect them to have.”

On Monday afternoon about a dozen people testified at a public hearing about Worley, accusing him of being a bully. A long-term care advocate said residents told her they felt as if the home had become a prison. Albrecht said this change in management of the home has been “in the works” for a while.

“This is unrelated to anything that was aired yesterday and, in fact, David Worley has the governor’s full faith and confidence,” Albrecht said. “…These kind of decisions aren’t just made overnight. This has been a long process and one that everyone believes will continue to offer the high-quality care to Iowa’s veterans.”

When news of the management change broke, Senator Steve Sodders, a Democrat from State Center who represents the Marshalltown area, told reporters he hopes this is in response to the concerns that were aired at Monday’s hearing.

“I think this is a first good step, that they did hear. They did listen and they did understand that somebody else has to be there, to kind of be a watchdog,” Sodders said.

But the governor’s staff insists the management change has been in the works for weeks, prompting Sodders to say he’ll take the governor’s staff “at their word.” Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, also participated in Monday’s hearing.

“I’ll give ‘em the benefit of the doubt,” McCoy told reporters this afternoon. “But clearly there was a timing that startling and not coincidental.”

McCoy said management issues at the Veterans Home appear to be a “complete nightmare” for residents and staff.

“What concerned me about the governor’s announcement is that in the announcement it indicated the home had had a ‘sterling review’ and I hardly consider what we heard yesterday sterling,” McCoy said. “And the fact that they’re perpetuating that through the governor’s office is a myth and it deserves a full investigation.”

Sodders has been calling for the governor to place Worley on paid administrative leave until a criminal investigation of the complaints can be completed.

“If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty, to get to feel comfortable to testify or to talk to investigators, the head there cannot still be there putting the intimidation down on people,” Sodders said this afternoon. “If you remove him with leave with pay then the investigation can happen and I think it’ll actually help Jodi. Jodi can run the place. She can be a part of the investigation on these complaints and if it comes out that there’s nothing to it, then he comes back to work.”

The governor’s spokesman said Branstad has no intention of placing the commandant on paid leave.

“David Worley does have the governor’s full support,” Albrecht said. “(He) has been a phenomenal leader for the Iowa Veterans Home.”

Worley was named head of the Iowa Veterans Home in August of 2010 by former Governor Chet Culver and Terry Branstad kept Worley on when Branstad became governor again in 2011. Tymeson — the new chief operating officer for the Veterans Home — is a former legislator and a retired brigadier general. She was the Iowa National Guard’s highest-ranking woman when she retired. She’ll start her new job at the Veterans Home on May 28.

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Statehouse hearing airs complaints about leaders of Iowa Veterans Home (AUDIO)

May 6, 2013 By

About a dozen former employees and members from the Marshalltown community aired their concerns about the manager of the Iowa Veterans Home during a statehouse hearing this afternoon.

Many called David Worley, the home’s commandant, a bully. Richard Schrad retired in 2003 after working more than 30 years at the Veterans Home. He told legislators people began contacting him to complain about Worley.

“One could say it was a bunch of whining and complaining of a few people or that this is merely about resistance to new management style and change, disgruntled employees, etc. etc. I’m here to tell you, senators, it is not,” Schrad said. “…Are the following examples o.k. for top administrators: sexual harassment and very inappropriate sexual remarks about female subordinates; verbal abuse towards residents and staff?”

Melanie Kempf, a long-term care advocate who works for the Iowa Department on Aging, met with 11 of the residents in January.

“Residents shared their concerns and they commented that the Veterans Home used to be their home, but they see it as a prison,” Kempt said. “…The residents’ perception is that the commandant is nice to residents during tours, but otherwise he is not friendly. The biggest concern that they have and continue to present to me is a fear of retaliation.”

Mike Schlesinger, publisher of the Marshalltown Times-Republican and 11 Iowa newspaper, arranged a meeting in March with seven former and current employees of the home, some of whom have filed complaints with the Iowa Department of Administrative Services.

“The stories were horrifying. The people were absolutely credible,” Schlesinger said. “…They gave examples of the commandant saying sexually harassing comments to women, comments that frankly anyone in private business would be fired for….I would hope that the governor will act in order to protect employees, residents and the State of Iowa from potential lawsuits.”

One senator directly asked Commandant Worley if he is a “dictator” and this was Worley’s response: “I can sit here and tell you 95 great-feeling stories, just like I’m sure somebody could sit here and tell you 95 stories contrary to that. What I would like is for you to come up there, see what we’re doing every day. I don’t believe that the morale is as bad as some people (describe it). It may be for those people, but I still believe that the residents are getting great quality of care.”

Worley told lawmakers he would not address “personal attacks.” According to Worley, some of the difficulties with staff could be attributed to poor communication.

“I listen and we try very hard and sometimes, as a leader, I do have to make decisions that not everybody’s going to be happy with,” Worley said.

He also cited recent federal and state inspections which did not find fault with the quality of care for the home’s 600 residents.

Colonel Todd Jacobis, chairman of the Iowa Commission on Veterans Affairs, offered a strong defense of Worley.

“There’s always a rest of the story and when issues of a sensitive nature have been brought to our attention we’ve asked David Worley about it, Jacobis said. “David Worley has always had a response that makes sense.”

The co-chair of the legislature’s Government Oversight Committee says it’s likely the panel will launch an investigation and may use its subpoena power to compel testimony from Worley and his accusers. Senator Steve Sodders, a Democrat from State Center, represents the area and he is calling on the governor to put Worley on paid administrative leave until a “real investigation” gives protection to whistleblowers.

“I even met with folks this weekend in management (at the Veterans Home) who are afraid to come forward to say anything,” Sodders said at the end of today’s hearing.

A spokesman for Governor Branstad says the governor considers Worley “a strong, effective leader at the Iowa Veterans Home.” Worley was hired in August of 2010 by former Governor Chet Culver and, after an initial evaluation, Branstad kept Worley on when Branstad took over as governor in 2011.

AUDIO of hearing, which lasted 2 hours and 23 minutes.

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Branstad defends management of Iowa Veterans Home

April 29, 2013 By

Governor Terry Branstad says he “has heard some concerns” about management of the Iowa Veterans Home, but the governor is expressing confidence in the leadership that’s in place.

“We’re very proud of the Iowa Veterans Home,” Branstad says. “They provide excellent services and in the various reviews whether it’s Inspections and Appeals at the state level or whether it’s the federal people that have reviewed it have said the services provided to veterans at the Veterans Home are truly outstanding.”

Critics accuse the home’s managers of “actively” trying to avoid providing treatment to veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. A group of more than 40 former employees wrote an open letter that was published in Iowa newspapers over the weekend, raising concerns about the home’s management. The chairman of the Iowa Senate Veterans Affairs Committee plans to hold a meeting next week to listen to concerns about the way veterans are treated at the home. Branstad is defending the home’s managers.

“I’m a veteran. I feel very strongly we want to make sure the veterans are treated well and we will carefully review the situation at the veterans home,” Branstad says. “…But also I would say Commandant Worley is on a first-name basis with just about every one of the residents and they work very hard to try to provide the best services to Iowa’s veterans.”

Iowa Veterans Home Commandant David Worley was appointed to the job by previous Governor Chet Culver and Branstad kept him on. The governor’s top two aides visited the Marshalltown facility in mid-April and Branstad chief of staff Jeff Boeyink says they were there to check on the level of care for veterans in the home.

“That’s our primary concern,” Boeyink says. “…There is absolutely no question in our minds or in any of the staffs’ mind that the veterans are receiving a high level quality of care.”

The governor’s chief of staff suggests this controversy is more about staff discontent than about how the veterans are being treated.

“Sometimes you have situations where personalities don’t mesh as well and you have some personnel issues that can result from that,” Boeyink says. “But that’s what (Iowa Department of Management director David (Roederer) and I do is try to help resolve those on behalf of the governor and the administration. I feel very confident we’ll be able to do that in the Veterans Home and have a leadership structure that works very well.”

Iowa’s “Old Soldiers Home” opened in 1887. It is now known as the Iowa Veterans Home and has more than 600 full-time residents.

Audio of the governor’s weekly news conference can be found here and the discussion about the Veterans Home starts at the six-minute mark.

Filed Under: Featured Story, Health & Medicine, Military, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

And then there were 31…state agencies

April 26, 2013 By

After nearly three decades of trying to reduce the number of departments in state government, lawmakers have agreed to form a new one.

The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division has been part of the Department of Public Defense since 1986. It will become a separate state department on July 1, 2013.

The reason? In times of disaster, the head of the Emergency Management division essentially wound up being the boss of his own boss. The director of the Iowa Department of Public Defense is the adjutant-general of the Iowa National Guard. When there’s a state disaster, emergency management division chief Mark Schouten gets to tell the Guard’s leader — his own boss — where the troops should be deployed.

“General Orr had some valid concerns that was a bit of an anomaly,” Schouten says. “He wanted to clarify the chain of command and asked us and talked with the governor and we all agreed that is would make sense and be consistent with current practice that we were a department rather than being a division, under the National Guard.”

There’s no expense to changing the name of the division to The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department. They don’t have old letterhead to use up either.

“We print it with the office computer printer, so it’s not like we have a great deal of stationary,” Schouten says. “And I think is you look carefully you’ll see that maybe even some of our own documents already used the word ‘Department’ or at least it’s HSEMD and we can continue to use the same abbreviation.”

Schouten isn’t hiring any new employees, but he is reviewing the agency’s structure.

“We think it’s a good time to pull out the old ‘org’ charts, with an eye to looking forward on how best we can configure our office, as a department, to do the work of the citizens of the state of Iowa better,” Schouten says.

2003 was the last time lawmakers changed the configuration of state government, but that was to merge three state agencies and the division of another department into a new Department of Administrative Services. When the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management division becomes a department, there will be a total of 31 departments in state government.

Back in 1986, Democrats in the legislature and Republican Governor Terry Branstad approved a sweeping state government reorganization plan. It reduced the number of state departments from 68 to 24.

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Unanimous confirmation for Iowa National Guard’s leader

March 30, 2013 By

The Iowa Senate this week confirmed the leader of the Iowa National Guard for another tour of duty.

Senator Daryl Beall, a Democrat from Fort Dodge, says Major General Timothy Orr has a “distinguished” record.

“Certainly during the last four years, but indeed his 30-some years of service before that,” Beall says. “He’s a man of passion, vision, leadership and proven service.”

The state’s governor gets to choose the commander of the Iowa Guard. Senators are asked to confirm the nominee and Orr was confirmed unanimously. Four years ago Governor Chet Culver asked Timothy Orr to become adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard. Governor Branstad has asked Orr to stay on, for another four-year term.

Senator Beall notes there are 54 states and territories that have National Guard leaders like Orr, but Orr is the only one who is invited to formally address his state’s legislature each year.

“What he talks about is a family of the National Guard,” Beall says, “including the Airmen and the soldiers, their families and their civilian partners — civilian employers.”

Beall says Orr had a key role in transitioning the Air Guard base in Des Moines to a new mission, to avoid closure of the unit once its F16 fighter jets are retired.

“We are the only National Guard to be selected, among all the military, for the ‘Healthy Base’ initiative,” Beall says. “You talk about healthy Iowans. We have a healthy National Guard as well.”

Pentagon officials named Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa, and 10 other bases for full-time soldiers as sites for the Healthy Base program. Major General Timothy Orr’s office is at Camp Dodge. He oversees over 9400 soldiers in more than 100 Iowa National Guard units.

 

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