In The Dalles

The Veterans Home is located on Columbia View Heights in The Dalles.

Salem resident Butch Gehley, board chairman of the Veterans Home, said both he and John Hutchison, state administrator for the veterans' facility, refer to the proposal as a "win-win" concept designed to bolster occupancy in the facility.

The Veterans Home is directed by a non-profit board and managed by Salem-based Westcare, which gained the state contract last fall.

Since then, the Oregon Veterans Home has reopened its "A-wing" and is attempting to build full occupancy -- an elusive goal, Gehley said, since the home's managers have found that people in more distant regions of Oregon want to have their family members closer to home.

The facility can accept up to 151 veterans. Current occupancy is about 110, Hutchison said.

"We seem to be drawing primarily from the local area," Gehley said, although the home was designed to serve veterans across Oregon. He noted that full occupancy would also encourage economies of scale, allowing managers to control costs more efficiently.

Gehley said that, contrary to earlier expectations, there hasn't proven to be an extended waiting list for the home. Rather, many veterans who earlier expressed interest in living here have found alternative arrangements.

The federal Veterans Affairs Department covers part of the daily costs for residents, but individuals are still asked to pay $94.50 per day, which includes prescription drug benefits and transportation, Hutchison said.

"Basically, we're a resource for people in southwest Washington," Hutchison added. But he noted that Oregon veterans would continue to receive precedence should the home develop a waiting list.

"A veteran is a veteran, and they should have access to the Veterans Home," he explained. "It's closer for a veteran from Goldendale to come to The Dalles than it is to Spokane or Olympia, where the Washington State homes are."

He also noted that federal law allows veterans' homes to accept surviving spouses, and this is done in other states.

The facility in The Dalles is Oregon's only state veterans' residence site.

"I think it's a win-win for everybody," Hutchison said of the proposal. "It's a great deal for our community."

Significant objections to the proposals, if raised during Monday's hearing, would be addressed by Oregon's Director of Veterans Affairs. If there are no major objections the proposals could be implemented by Sept. 1, Gehley said.

He cited significant improvements in the home's financial prospects since Westcare assumed management, while noting continued cooperation from the previous operator, Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles.

"We've still got a ways to go to cover the overhead the [state veterans] department has," he said. "If we can get up to 130 to 140 residents in the home, that should cover costs as well as well [ensure] a reasonable daily fee for the residents."