Head of Ariz. state agency loses oversight of troubled state veterans' home

Gov. Janet Napolitano removed the director of the Department of Veterans' Services on Monday from direct responsibility over the state's troubled nursing home for military veterans, the governor's spokeswoman said.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services penalized the state $10,000 on March 16 for substandard care conditions at the Arizona State Veteran Home in Phoenix.

While Patrick F. Chorpenning remains department director, "at this point he is being separated from any action that has to do with operation of the home," Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said. The governor on Monday also ordered an immediate review of the home's management.

House Speaker Jim Weiers said legislators will investigate but it was apparent that Chorpenning should be fired or at least suspended.

"It's a black eye on the state," he said.

The nursing home provides long-term care to as many as 200 veterans. Most are World War II and Korean War veterans.

The federal agency punished the state after a routine inspection in February. It also threatened to pull the home's status as a Medicare provider.

State inspectors found that patients went without necessary bed care for long periods and that staff members ignored patients' activation of call buttons, according to a report. Inspectors reported finding a patient left in soiled bedclothes and at least one whose cigarettes had burned her clothes.

Napolitano also said her office has referred allegations of nepotism in hiring to the attorney general's office.

Dr. Leonard Kirschner, a retired Air Force colonel and former director of the state's Medicaid program, will lead a review of management and leadership, Napolitano said.

"My primary concern is the quality of care to veterans at the home," Napolitano said in a statement.

Chorpenning's office said he declined to comment. He told the Arizona Republic newspaper on Friday that his agency had moved to fix conditions that he regarded as totally unacceptable.

Another Department of Veterans' Services official will oversee the home temporarily, L'Ecuyer said. A licensed interim director will be in place by Wednesday.

Chorpenning, a Vietnam veteran, was appointed in 1999 by then-Gov. Jane Hull to head the Arizona Veterans Services Commission. The commission, which had been plagued by understaffing and financial mismanagement, was later elevated to department status.

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Associated Press writer Chris Kahn contributed to this story.

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On the Net:

Veterans Home: http://www.azdvs.gov/stateveteranhome.htm