I
am so outraged over comments the American Legion Representative Mark Sutton
made that I took a couple days to cool down before replying.
I do
encourage you to report Mr. Sutton's inexcusable behavior to his superiors. And,
if he did speak for the American Legion as he claimed, AL is totally out of
touch with the reality of the situation at the Home. To end three weeks
of intense and horrifying testimony with comments implying the situations at
the Home are not as bad as reported, was the same as saying every witness
before him was a liar. That is untrue and unacceptable. In reality,
he is the one who was disconnected to reality.
Residents
of the Home and I who were present at all the hearings are beyond angered and
livid over inappropriate, unsubstantiated, inaccurate comments attributed to
the American Legion Rep. Mr. Sutton. When he implied he spoke for
residents he has never met, he seriously outraged the Home residents who were
present. Some said they had no clue who he was, he did not routinely
visit any of them and he had no right acting like he was speaking for them when
he rambled off a list of things he wanted.
As one resident told me on the
way back to GR, "If Sutton's statements do represent the position of
the American Legion, the AL is so grossly out of touch with the real happenings
at the GR Home for Veterans they should be ashamed of themselves.
Maybe
they should stick to parades and ceremonial events...leave the real issues to
people who know the facts and give a damned about us and our fellow veterans."
It
was Mr. Sutton who made uneducated statements, threw out false numbers (like
$200,000 needed for a position that has not been approved nor has a cost been
determined) and supported the very Board of Managers which is highly culpable
in this situation. He appeared to the residents and I to be completely
unaware of the documented abuses and rights to speech, assembly and representation
stripped from the residents by the very Board of Managers he painted as victims
of unjust dislike by a few disgruntle residents. The fact is well known that those very same BOM members he
defended stopped the residents from meetings they planned with their own
legislators -- even legislators testified to that point. BOM denied
veterans their rights to free speech, assembly and representation - that is
what these hearings were about.
There is such lack of communication
between BOM members that had Mr. Sutton attended all BOM meetings, he would
have known how heated the meeting became when BOM members from up North argued
with those in GR for failing to communicate, especially important issues like
licensing and closing of the Cafeteria.
They were angered when they only
learned of major issues from reporters and when they learned the cafeteria was
not closed only for an inexpensive license. It was actually closed
because rodents had overrun the kitchen and cafeteria, a bug zapper had been
placed directly above the food prep area and "dirty water" from sewer
lines were backed up into the food prep areas, need major repairs and
changes....and on and on. It was so bad National Guard had to bring in
food. BOM from the North were outraged that GR Admin would not even answer
basic accounting questions -- and now millions of dollars and property are
missing on their shift. Yet, to listen to Mr. Sutton, everything
is fine.
Having
worked daily for months with a team (residents, volunteers, caregivers, family
members, friends, advocates...) who met with dozens and dozens and dozens of
residents, LISTENED to resident stories and concerns, documented then verified
facts, abuses and issues, we are beyond appalled by Mr. Sutton's inaccurate,
misleading statements. These hearings were not a time to present guesses and
unverified information, as Mr. Sutton did repeatedly. Or provide a list of
things the residents need without talking with more of them. The rest of us
stuck with facts and verified information hearings are for truth. We feel
he should be charged with perjury
And
the raving review he received from Holly Hughes was downright strange.
She is one of those who voted to let go of State workers and is,
therefore, a contributor to this problem. If she has been talking with Mr.
Sutton for five years as they claimed -- why have they not done more sooner???
Why have these issues only worsened? As Ms. Hughes said herself, talk is cheap.
We need someone with balls to clean up this mess, not tell everyone at
the hearing "no one has a gun to his head" and say things
are fine at the Home. May not be a gun, but we documented far too many
residents who are clearly being given drugs leading to death, crippled vets in
wheelchairs taken outside and left to freeze in near zero weather, without so
much as a coat; crippled residents in wheelchairs left in hot sun to dehydrate;
fed food prepared on a food prep area directly below a bug zapper on a
floor with sewage water backed up -- sending many to the hospital with
gastrointestinal problems and too many other issues and abuses; deadly
misdiagnoses and overdoses by staff, giving black box drugs like Seroquel,
Depakote and drugs like sleeping pills and Ativan to residents to put them to
sleep to self-admittedly manage staffing shortages. Mr. Sutton's ignorance
on the real issues is only exceeded by his arrogance. If he sees nothing wrong
with these issues, he has no right saying he represents the residents' voices.
Mr.
Sutton ignorantly talked like all the problems started only with the last
administration, totally ignorant of the horrors the BOM inflicted on residents.
Totally ignorant of the harassment, intimidation and threats made by
those same BOM members he covered for. I was personally threatened by a BOM who
said he would "tear you to pieces for including my name in any
report." I was personally told to never speak with any legislator
about the Home, that they "will hear only what I want them to hear"
by one of the very BOM members. When it became clear the AG and Gov. would
only work with ill-informed leaders of certain veteran groups, we filed formal
complaints with the federal OIG and V.A. Secretary and President Obama.
They quietly began investigations. We even involved the FBI re
questionable deaths and abuses. They addressed some of concerns in the
two audits this year. Those people only look into claims that have
substance, as ours did and was. We met with legislators with documented
facts -- not hypotheticals like Mr. Sutton presented to the hearing
legislators.
We
invited to Rep. Tom Barrett to visit the Home and meet with residents. We
helped him do what he called "a surprise sting" operation at the
Home. He was appalled that not one staff member acknowledged his presence
or even said "hello" as he entered the Home in torn clothing. He
said it was like he did not exist as he walked the halls -- until he ran into a
Board of Managers member surprised to see him. He was saddened to see
most residents walking or rolling with their heads down, seemingly afraid to
make eye contact with anyone they met. He was given a tour of the Home by
a resident, from that resident's perspective. I recall that day being led to a
sunroom that was packed with dozens of veterans in wheelchairs, dying residents
in beds that were rolled in, packed so closely it was hard to move, no tv on,
no food coming...just sitting there unable to move. The smell of
unchanged diapers was overwhelming. They all just sat or laid there,
staring down at the floor, too afraid to even talk with each other. I
learned that day staff was short and that was one way they controlled it.
After
that, Rep. Barrett, at our request, not Mr. Sutton's, started the process to
get these hearings held to eventually bring a hearing to the Home so residents
could speak to legislators and be heard -- meetings certain BOM members and
past Administration had stopped multiple times before. Mr. Sutton seemed
clueless that this was a major issue with residents.
So,
perhaps AL leadership can understand why we are extremely outraged that Mr. Sutton
closed three weeks of intense hearings implying everything is fine at the Home.
His statements implied the American Legion knows more about what is happening
at the Home than the residents who live at the Home and came to Lansing to
testify knew. So wrong. He left those in the know thinking "American
Legion appears clueless to the reality of the issues residents request help
with." Clueless as to the veterans found with maggots in their feet
who died days later; clueless to the discomfort of residents forced to lie in
their own excrement for long periods of time; clueless to the numerous calls
for help that go unanswered; clueless to the number of cold meals residents get
because there are not enough caregivers to feed them while food is hot; clueless
to the pain veterans suffer from bed sores caused by insufficient rotation
again due to staff shortages; clueless to veterans who became ill and could not
get outside second opinions (not even with the help of a congressman); clueless
to the veteran who was denied help and only survived because he violated
protocol and called for someone on the outside to take him to the nearest
emergency room -- where he was immediately to admitted to ICU with a confirmed
drug overdose administered by Home staff and told he was not likely to survive
the night; clueless to the threats and harassment made against those who tried
to complain or speak up; clueless to the head injuries residents received in an area Administration
failed to repair despite months of notices and requests; clueless to the
veterans who are dying from neglect or turned away to live homeless
nearby. Too many residents are silently suffering, humiliated and abused by
overworked or under-caring staff. Yet Mr. Sutton implied these are all
lies.
Let
me tell the American Legion, the 80+ page report we sent to the OIG, gave
dozens and dozens of documented abuses that happened to residents at that Home.
We sorted fact from misunderstandings. We also included names, dates and photos
to support claims. Yes, photos of mice in the cafeteria; photos of handicapped
veterans who fell over and no caregiver was around, photos of neglect. Too much
of Mr. Sutton's testimony was not even supported with accurate numbers or fact.
Shame on him and the American Legion for undermining the hard work and effort
of those who presented facts. Shame on both for failing to help those veterans
at the Home.
In
his haste to promote veterans, he failed to acknowledge that some of the
strongest, documented claims against the Home were inflicted by BOM members who
were veterans who abused their positions. The worst injustice is they were
veterans who harmed resident veterans. Yes, if we have multiple people applying
for a job and the playing field is even as far as qualifications, etc.,
preference points should be considered. But it is because Board members have
been chosen solely because they are a veteran, not because they are qualified,
that residents were under served.
How
hypocritical it was of Mr. Sutton to tell legislators to visit the Home, when
not one veteran present from the Home had ever met him.
In
closing, Mr. Sutton's comments were a stinging slap in the face to the
residents, volunteers, caregivers, family members and advocates who spent
months listening to issues, documenting abuses and worked hard to address them.
If he truly represented the American Legion, as he claimed, that tells us the
entire organization is grossly out of touch with the reality of the situations
at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. We find that appalling and
shameful. American Legion owes the
residents at the Home a HUGE apology.
A
Veterans' Advocate
Blog Ed: There were OTHER AL members at those hearings who did NOT wear their AL hats. And more than one American Legion person gave testimony that supported claims by Resident veterans who were at the hearings, and 1 former resident veteran, about how bad things were.
Also is is my understanding that the Legislature is looking at returning the homes management back to the Dept of Health and Human services and eliminating the Board of Managers. Governor John Engler's experiment, I think, is a failure, and its time to end it. -The Blog owner.
