---------- DOCUMENT HEADER ----------
---------- DOCUMENT HEADER ----------
ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE
Forty-eighth Legislature – First Regular Session
JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE OPERATIONS AND
CONDITIONS AT THE ARIZONA VETERANS HOME
Minutes of Meeting
House Hearing Room 1 -- 9:00 a.m.
Chairman Nelson called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. and attendance was noted by the secretary.
Members Present
Senator Jack Harper, Chair Representative John Nelson, Chair
Senator Jim Waring, CoChair Representative Bob Stump, CoChair
Senator Linda Gray Representative Manuel Alvarez
Senator Charlene Pesquiera Representative John McComish
Senator Victor Soltero Representative Ben Miranda
Representative Jonathan Paton
Representative Albert Tom
Members Absent
Senator Chuck Gray
Senator Richard Miranda
Discussion of Operations and Conditions at the Arizona Veterans Home
Pat Chorpenning, representing
self, related that the survey conducted by the Arizona Department of Health
Services (DHS) began Monday, February 5, 2007 and was to conclude Friday, February
9, 2007, but was conducted through Friday. The surveyors left the premises on Monday,
February 12, 2007. The Veterans Affairs (VA) survey began on Monday,
January 22, 2007 and ended on Friday, January 26, 2007. As a result of the VA
survey, the Arizona Veterans Home was given provisional certification by the
VA.
When Chairman Nelson asked who developed
the plan of correction for the VA survey,
Mr. Chorpenning said it was done by the Administrator at that time, Catherine
Corbin.
Mr. Nelson asked the key issues the plan responded to and if necessary action was taken to correct the problems. Mr. Chorpenning responded that the basic issues related to resident care plans, answering call lights in a quicker fashion and dealing with the role of the social work team, which includes recreational therapists, etc.
Mr. McComish asked if the timing of the VA and DHS surveys was coincidental or one triggers the other. Mr. Chorpenning answered that the two surveys are independent of each other. There is no relationship between the findings of one survey and the findings of the other, nor does one trigger the other.
Mr. McComish asked if there was any communication between Mr. Chorpenning and the survey team when the DHS survey team was at the Home. Mr. Chorpenning said there was no direct communication between him or the Director’s Office except notification that the survey team had arrived. On Thursday of that week, the Administrator reported to him that she had conversations with members of the survey team, and as of Friday, there were virtually no problems and everything was going well.
Mr. McComish asked why there was a finding of immediate jeopardy. Mr. Chorpenning explained that the survey team can immediately place a facility in immediate jeopardy if three like incidents occur at the same time, which indicates there is the potential for a major problem throughout the facility. In this case, a female resident who has refused to keep her smoking apron on, threw the apron on the ground and was smoking a cigarette out front. Also, two residents were smoking on the C1 patio supervised by a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) who left to get a valet to watch the smokers in order to take two other residents into the home. As soon as the surveyor saw the smokers unsupervised, the valet was there, but the surveyor saw two individuals smoking unsupervised.
He stated that the facility was put into immediate jeopardy at 7:10 p.m. A plan of correction was immediately put together and submitted at 8:20 p.m., which the surveyors would not accept. A second plan of correction was submitted by the Administrator at 9:35 p.m. that was accepted, after which the surveyors decided to remain over the weekend to ensure the plan stayed in place until they left the Home at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, at which time the immediate jeopardy designation was released. The designation should have been in place only two-and-a-half to three hours. The fine is based on the number of incidents and the number of days the designation remains in place, so what could have been a $1,000 fine ended up being $10,000.
Mr. McComish surmised there has been much ado about nothing because of overzealous surveyors. Mr. Chorpenning said the facility was placed in immediate jeopardy on Friday, February 9, 2007, but the incident became known to the public at the end of March 2007 like it was brand new. On Friday, March 23, 2007, he made the statement to a reporter that this was one of the worst survey teams ever in the Home, which came out in the paper that the Director said this was the worst survey the Department ever had.
McComish asked the reason for the delay. Mr. Chorpenning said he believes it was a bit of hysteria on the part of the press, a considerable amount of hysteria on the part of DHS, and to a degree, an over-reaction on the part of the Governor’s Office simply because of what happened at Walter Reed Medical Center, which occurred after the DHS survey. He was attending a conference in Washington, D.C. and did not know what was happening until that Sunday when he received a call from his wife to call Susan Gerard, Director of DHS, or Alan Stephens from the Governor’s Office. He attempted to call the Administrator who would not take his call and the Assistant Administrator, who was busy. He reached the Deputy Director who told him what happened and that the situation had been taken care of. After calling Alan Stephens, he decided to cut the trip short and return on Thursday instead of Friday. When the Governor got word of it six weeks later, he believes she thought this was something absolutely horrendous. She probably did not know and probably did not need to know at the time it happened because the problem was resolved; however, according to the newspaper articles, it sounded like veterans were stretched out in bed or walking up and down the hallways smoking and putting everyone in jeopardy, which was not the case.
Mr. Chorpenning acknowledged that Catherine Corbin, who reported directly to him, is no longer the Administrator at the Home, partly because she never informed him about what was taking place, along with other things that followed.
Mr. McComish noted that there were other problems that were not part of the immediate jeopardy designation that were uncovered in one or both of the surveys. Mr. Chorpenning stated that three other unrelated incidents were mentioned in the newspaper that would not have placed the facility in immediate jeopardy, which were not in either of the surveys, but may have been reported to the press by DHS. He related the details of those incidents.
Mr. McComish asked why Mr.
Chorpenning resigned. Mr. Chorpenning stated that the Administrator did
certain things from the time she was terminated to the time the article took place.
He was not only Director of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services (ADVS),
but also the Governor’s Policy Advisor for Military Services, which was another
full-time job. He received a call from Dennis Burke about 9:00 a.m. Saturday,
March 24, 2007, who said a group of attorneys from the law firm of Coppersmith,
Gordon, Schermer & Brockelman, would be at the Home at 1:00 p.m. and should
be kept informed about what is going on. All sorts of changes had been made according
to the plan of correction. The attorneys were at the Home again on Sunday and
called the Governor’s Office and were able to set up a meeting for Monday,
March 26, 2007, at 9:00 a.m.
He said on Monday morning, the
first person he bumped into at the Governor’s Office was
Tim Nelson, who told him he is going to jail for four months. They went into
the Governor’s Office, where the Governor, six attorneys, Mike Haener and Alan
Stephens were present. The attorneys briefed them on the two days they were at
the Home. He told the Governor everything was taken care of and a plan of
correction had been submitted. The Governor said this is his last meeting
dealing with the Home, he is no longer in the chain of command as far as the Home
is concerned, and he is forbidden to go into the Home in a formal or informal
capacity. With that type of support, loyalty and trust after eight years of
taking a Department that was in total ruins and making it what it is today, he
asked if anyone would stick around. Not one of the attorneys said a word, and
he was very intimidated even though he is not a person who runs away from a
fight.
Senator Waring asked if anyone has ever had the breadth of responsibility Mr. Chorpenning had for veterans affairs in Arizona. Mr. Chorpenning answered that to the best of his knowledge, no one has. Colonel Maxon is responsible for the ADVS, but an individual in the Governor’s Office has taken on the interim responsibility of Policy Advisor for Military Services.
Senator Waring remarked that the Governor placed him in a difficult spot and dealt toughly with him after 40 years of unblemished service.
Senator Harper expressed
appreciation for Mr. Chorpenning’s 40 years of service. He said with Mr.
Chorpenning holding two full-time jobs, he does not know how the Governor’s
Office can justify holding him accountable if anything falls short when too
much was asked of him. He asked if the Governor’s Office also expected him to
work on her 2006 campaign.
Mr. Chorpenning answered that his son, Pat Chorpenning, Jr., was asked to
establish a committee of veterans, but he understands politicians want to be
re-elected and has no problems with that process.
Senator Harper asked if anyone other than the Governor’s advisors, Mr. Chorpenning or DHS knew about DHS’ 94-page report. Mr. Chorpenning said an individual named Jennifer who was the Policy Adviser for DHS since January 2007 saw the report. He stated that from the time he discharged the Administrator, DHS began putting out a lot of information that was extremely incorrect and negatively slanted toward him. He also terminated the Manager of the Social Services Department for defying a direct order, plus the fact that he was ultimately responsible for resident care plans. The first words from the Manager’s mouth were that he is not the one trying to sabotage him, so he believes a plan was in place to do something.
Senator Harper said he was under the
impression that Chuck Blanchard and
Congressman Harry Mitchell met Mr. Chorpenning in front of the Home in February
2007 before taking a tour of the Veterans Hospital. He asked if they knew
there might be problems in the Home. Mr. Chorpenning answered that it was not
Chuck Blanchard, but former State Senator Jay Blanchard. They met in the front
of the Home and walked across to the
Medical Center, but did not go into the Home.
Senator Soltero stated that Mr. Chorpenning is a real trooper and assisted him on issues pertaining to veterans. He thanked him for enlightening the Members to view issues from a different perspective and clarify items that were in the newspaper.
Senator Linda Gray added her gratitude and appreciation. She said it is interesting that the Governor was so concerned about this, but the report given to her office was not read until six days after it was received, and then Mr. Chorpenning was blamed.
Chairman Nelson stated that the meeting is recessed until 12:00 noon or when the House gets off the Floor.
THE MEETING RECESSED AT 10:20 A.M.
THE MEETING RECONVENED AT 2:20
P.M. ALL MEMBERS WERE PRESENT EXCEPT SENATOR CHUCK GRAY, SENATOR LINDA GRAY,
SENATOR MIRANDA,
MR. STUMP AND SENATOR WARING.
Mr. Miranda asked about the terminations by Mr. Chorpenning. Mr. Chorpenning stated that a nighttime supervisor resigned when he was not present, and a Licensed Practical Nurse and CNA were placed on administrative leave because of a situation involving a gentleman with a colostomy bag. An investigation was held and those employees returned to work. The Director of Nursing resigned, and as mentioned before, the Administrator, Catherine Corbin, and the Manager of Social Services were terminated on March 14, 2007. He indicated that the two terminations were directly linked to the surveys, but the situation with Catherine Corbin involved an extended period of time and specific cases of insubordination. In the process of putting together the plan of correction, the Manager of Social Services took an extended four-day weekend after being instructed by the Administrator to issue a statement to all individuals that vacations were terminated until the plan of correction was done.
Mr. Miranda asked if it is Mr. Chorpenning’s opinion that the nature of the problem between February 9, 2007 when the inspection was conducted and March 23, 2007 when the matter surfaced, was blown out of proportion and there was never an issue that rose to the magnitude as portrayed in the press. Mr. Chorpenning concurred and iterated the three smoking incidents that caused the Home to be classified as in immediate jeopardy.
Mr. Chorpenning indicated to Mr. Miranda that he was not aware of any report sent to the Governor’s Office regarding the three smoking incidents and the three unrelated incidents discussed earlier. He became aware of the three unrelated incidents on March 23, 2007 when a reporter from the The Arizona Republic and Channel 12 showed up in his office at ADVS after he received a phone call from Alan Stephens saying the information was going to be released to the newspaper. The first question asked by the reporter was “Tell me how this is like Walter Reed,” to which he responded “This is nothing like Walter Reed.” The reporter began raising the issues that were not in the survey, which he knew nothing about.
Mr. Miranda submitted that if he received the report and was in a position to do something, he would have taken immediate action because of the severity of the situation. He asked for recommendations to improve the facility. Mr. Chorpenning suggested the following:
Mr. Miranda agreed that if Arizona is going to remain in the business of providing care in this area, it should be the highest possible care.
Mr. Tom asked why Mr. Chorpenning waited until now to dispute the survey results and his current role and recommendations. Mr. Chorpenning stated that he was going through a healing process and it has taken a long time to get to the point of not being angry. He gave 40 years of his life to public service to have it destroyed by one event. There are 600,000 plus veterans in Arizona with more every day, and men and women are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with double and triple amputations. A tremendous amount of work needs to be done, and he plans to be a part of that, although he does not know how. Also, veterans benefit counselors are needed for Native American veterans and women veterans. The greatest thing that must be overcome is the fact that considering the number of individuals on active duty, including the National Guard and reserves, and with the size of the population today, only 1 in 300 wear the uniform of this country.
Mr. Chorpenning said he offered
to testify before to the Attorney General, County Attorney,
Greg Maxon, Dr. Leonard Kirschner and Peter Francis, but it was not until
yesterday that he and Chairman Nelson talked on the phone that he was asked to
address the Committee. Although he prepared very little, everything he said is
true.
Mr. Paton asked if Mr. Chorpenning spoke with any members of the Governor’s Veterans Home Review Team led by Dr. Kirschner. Mr. Chorpenning said on April 10 or 11, 2007, he returned a phone call to Dr. Kirschner who asked for his input on recommendations he was considering making to the Governor, which Mr. Chorpenning described in detail.
Mr. Paton asked about removing
employees at the Home from exempt status. Mr. Chorpenning said he has been
trying to get the Arizona Department of Administration’s (ADOA)
Personnel Division to understand that a nurse at the Arizona Department of
Corrections does not have the same responsibilities as a nurse or CNA at the
Home. He noted that the application and hiring process takes from three to
five weeks and needs to be streamlined so people can be hired faster.
Mr. Paton asked what Inspector General Peter Francis recommended regarding the Home’s employees. Mr. Chorpenning expressed surprise that staffing recommendations and human resource issues are being considered without checking with the Human Resources Division Office at ADVS on what the problems are and how they can be corrected. He said he did not talk to Peter Francis. At the end of the conversation with Dr. Kirschner, he indicated that he would like to run the final report by him, but Dr. Kirschner called him the day he made the report public and presented it to the Governor to apologize because he could not do that. Dr. Kirschner thought it would be in everyone’s best interest to turn the report over to the Governor since it contained items he would not agree with based on the phone conversation.
Mr. Paton asked for his comments on the report. Mr. Chorpenning stated that it deals with funding and staffing, and the Director of the ADOA Personnel Division should be involved in that recommendation. The other recommendation is initial funding and then continuous funding, but he believes the Home should be funded as it is done in Massachusetts where a budget is passed for each of the veterans homes at 100 percent, then the Administrator collects as much of the money as possible and returns it to the general fund.
Mr. Paton asked about nepotism, which was brought up by the press. Mr. Chorpenning conveyed that his wife worked in the Purchasing Department at the Home. The position was created by ADOA and ADOA said there is no conflict because she did not directly report to him nor did he generate the request for that to happen. Before his son was hired, he went with the Administrator of the Home to talk to Betsey Bayless, Director of ADOA, who said there was no conflict. That is under investigation with the Attorney General’s Office and he believes he will be exonerated. He added that when he fired Catherine Corbin, she went to the press and started a coverup, claiming that it was not her fault because the Director had employees in the building.
Mr. Chorpenning related the details about a situation involving Ruben Felix Person and conveyed the names of the people present in the meeting with the Governor. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the Governor on the legal aspects of the plan of correction that was submitted and instituted and the other issues that were in the newspaper, but occurred long before the survey.
Mr. Chorpenning emphasized the fact that some absolutely incredible, dedicated, caring, loving employees work at the Home who go above and beyond what one would expect of any state employee, and what is happening has been a slap across their faces as well. He added that his job as Director of ADVS was one of the most important, incredible jobs any veteran could ever hold. The last thing he would ever do is put any veteran, whether disabled or elderly, in harm’s way or do anything to impair their health and well-being.
Chairman Nelson thanked Mr. Chorpenning for testifying and indicated that perhaps some changes can be made internally without spending a lot of money. With Mr. Chorpenning’s and Dr. Kirschner’s recommendations, the Committee will try to come up with a plan that works and meets the needs of veterans of the past and future.
Mr. Chorpenning offered his services to the Chairman, Committee and Legislature on veterans issues.
Without objection, the meeting adjourned at 4:08 p.m.
________________________________
Linda Taylor, Committee Secretary
May 10, 2007
(Original minutes, attachments, and audio are on file in the Office of the Chief Clerk.)
---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------
JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE OPERATIONS AND
CONDITIONS AT THE ARIZONA VETERANS HOME
7
May 10, 2007
---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------