Who should be in charge of troubled Vets Homes?

A series of crises since 2005 at the Minneapolis Veterans Homes has kept its governing board so busy that it hasn't had time to develop a plan for the future, the board's chairman told a state commission Wednesday that is investigating problems at the home.

"But I don't think we should change the current governing structure," said Jeff Johnson, chairman of the Minnesota Veterans Homes Board. "A board appointed by the governor is still the right way to go."

Whether Johnson's assessment is correct -- or if the leadership of the five state-owned homes should be moved under some other state agency such as the Department of Veterans Affairs -- is a basic decision the governor-appointed commission began grappling with Wednesday.

By October, the commission hopes to recommend how the homes should be governed and operated.

It also will probably propose a greatly expanded role for the vets homes that includes serving more aged and infirm veterans in their home cities, and collaboration with federal Veterans Affairs medical centers in the region.

Since 2005, the state has cited the Minneapolis Home for 67 rule violations and fined it $42,300 when problems were not corrected on time. Because of those problems, the home will operate with a conditional license for two years, with increased monitoring by the state Health Department. The other four homes -- in Fergus Falls, Hastings, Luverne and Silver Bay -- have not had major regulatory problems.

"Fixing the current problems at the Minneapolis Home, that's really just some heavy lifting -- difficult, but it can be done," commission Chairman Dale Thompson said Wednesday. "What we're envisioning, though, is how the veterans homes can be world-class centers of excellence."

Surprise led to meeting

The commission, at work since May, met for the first time Wednesday with most of the Minnesota Veterans Homes Board members. The meeting was set up after commission members earlier this month were disturbed to learn that the board was proposing a $67 million plan to expand and modernize the Minneapolis campus and had begun upgrading many of its operating systems before the board completed its work.

The expansion plan confused even Veterans Home Board members, who at first understood it to be part of a previously approved long-term plan. They discovered after its monthly meeting two weeks ago that it was a new idea, submitted by staff to federal officials as a "place holder" for future funding.

On Wednesday, four of the six board members present said they strongly support retaining the current board's governing role. The others said they're not sure how the homes might best be governed.

Johnson agreed with commission members Wednesday that the current board would be strengthened by training that is offered routinely by state nursing home associations. He also said his board is open to the expanded role the commission envisions.

Members of the commission will meet next week with representatives of Minnesota veterans service groups that in the past have strongly supported keeping the homes independent of other agencies.

When Gov. Rudy Perpich briefly placed the homes under the state Department of Human Services in 1987, thousands of veterans marched on the State Capitol to protest. In 1988, the Legislature created the Veterans Homes Board, which reports to the governor.

Warren Wolfe • 612-673-7253

Warren Wolfe • wolfe@startribune.com