[1:25] I I would encourage you that are

[1:26] going to be here next year and

[1:27] in the years to come that

[1:28] the veterans that we have

[1:32] in the chamber

[1:34] as well as here in this

[1:38] that they they look at what

[1:45] problems that a lot of veterans

[1:46] are going through in your

[1:47] district

[1:50] and try to look at that through

[1:51] a lens as to what can I

[1:54] the

[1:56] the problems

[2:04] guests that we bring in sort

[2:05] of that

[2:12] things that we did and the

[2:14] reason that I wanted to do that

[2:15] was so

[2:26] cc es s to those to help

[2:34] how would be remiss if I didn't

[2:37] make comments that we there's a

[2:38] gentleman that's in the in the

[2:40] audience right now there was he

[2:41] was the chairman

[2:42] during my freshman year my

[2:47] Chuck Basie was

[2:50] he was the chairman I was the

[2:51] vice chair and he got promoted

[2:54] jobs and became the chair of

[3:12] I had a talk with the speaker

[3:13] elect yesterday we met

[3:18] and I put a bug in his ear as to

[3:20] who I would like to see

[3:22] appointed the chair and vice

[3:23] chair of

[3:34] I don't have any idea who

[3:35] it's going to be

[3:36] but I did give him

[3:38] two names of

[3:42] at his leisure he'll do it

[3:46] name of veterans and armed

[3:47] forces

[3:48] I think that

[3:51] Victor Patterson

[3:54] did I think was really it was

[3:55] a good

[3:58] eterans

[4:02] but look at active duty military

[4:03] to look at our reservist

[4:08] re legislation that would be

[4:14] year and the bills that we had

[4:16] that we got passed that really

[4:17] benefited the National Guard

[4:20] and quite frankly

[4:24] in afghanistan and Iraq

[4:28] our reservist and National Guard

[4:30] many of them were over there a

[4:31] lot more times than

[4:36] look at what they're going

[4:36] through and

[4:45] I did want to have

[4:48] p re s ent ative Job and I are

[4:49] on the

[4:50] and

[4:54] I want to bring in the director

[4:55] of the

[5:00] retired colonel Paul Kirchhoff

[5:01] and have him kind of give you an

[5:04] update as to what's going on

[5:05] with our veterans

[5:08] homes the veterans cemeteries

[5:09] the veteran service officers and

[5:14] give him an opportunity so you

[5:15] can take

[5:20] American leggions DA

[5:24] Colonel and when you're ready

[5:25] you can proceed.

[5:28] right for the record Paul

[5:30] Kurchoff, executive director of

[5:30] the Missouri's Veterans

[5:31] Commission

[5:34] now know how my dad was a

[5:35] preacher now I know how he felt

[5:36] because everybody's in the back

[5:40] right so anyways so hey I want

[5:43] to thank each of you for

[5:44] everything that you've done to

[5:46] help veterans and the armed

[5:49] services over the last at least

[5:51] a couple of years it is it is

[5:52] making a difference you all are

[5:54] making a difference. I was just

[5:56] saying you know it's kind of a

[5:57] team game to care for veterans

[5:58] whether it's you all whether

[6:00] it's the governor's office,

[6:02] whether it's the Missouri law

[6:04] clinic whether it's the the the

[6:06] veteranservice organizations it

[6:07] all it takes

[6:09] all of us to care for veterans

[6:10] and we all have to work together

[6:12] and I'm seeing a lot more of

[6:15] that going forward in the last

[6:16] couple of years seeing more of

[6:20] that teamwork of let's let's do

[6:21] whatever it takes to help

[6:22] veterans so thank you for doing

[6:23] that

[6:26] would start with the with the

[6:29] homes the we are you know

[6:31] continuing to have difficulty

[6:33] with a couple of ones fiscally

[6:35] we're we're we're making making

[6:36] do but we're not thriving we're

[6:37] kind of doing

[6:40] that surviving mode particularly

[6:42] in the homes and a lot of that's

[6:44] due to you know we're still

[6:46] having difficulty retaining

[6:48] staff. We can recruit them we're

[6:50] doing a great job of recruiting.

[6:51] we've got great recruiting

[6:54] efforts but if you you probably

[6:56] know working in a in a veteran's

[6:58] home or a nursing home of any's

[7:00] it's difficult work and so

[7:02] retaining them is the difficult

[7:03] part and it's you know part of

[7:03] it's the what we pay but

[7:06] you know in many ways we're

[7:08] we're very competitive there but

[7:10] it's just you combine the

[7:12] difficulty of the work the

[7:13] mandation which is whenever

[7:15] somebody calls in sick we we

[7:18] have to make somebody stay

[7:20] overpass their their regularly

[7:22] scheduled hours and we have to

[7:24] do that because the VA requires

[7:26] a certain patient to to

[7:28] caregiver ratio where you don't

[7:31] find in private homes so as a

[7:32] result of that we're looking at

[7:33] several options. One is

[7:34] increasing

[7:38] what what is being charged in

[7:40] room and care rate we're we're

[7:44] currently about $1600 a month

[7:46] that's well well below what

[7:49] you'll find anywhere else so we

[7:52] have a we made a proposal to the

[7:54] commissioners

[7:56] we have more work to do as far

[7:58] as whether or not that'll be

[8:00] approved and how it'll be

[8:03] approved but I foresee that

[8:03] there will be

[8:06] we have to do something to

[8:06] increase

[8:10] veterans and keep in mind

[8:12] there's a difference so there's

[8:15] the full cost of care who are70%

[8:17] or above their they're they're

[8:18] free they don't have we don't

[8:19] charge them

[8:23] but if you're below70% we have

[8:26] to charge a an amount currently

[8:30] around $100 to to the veterans

[8:32] and we're looking at increasing

[8:34] that amount we're also

[8:35] haven't talked about this to the

[8:36] commissioners but one of the

[8:39] things we we need to look at is

[8:42] reducing our our beds with that

[8:44] we are certified for with the

[8:45] VA.

[8:46] we haven't been able to meet our

[8:50] bed count for well at least

[8:52] seven years and part of that's

[8:53] due to you know if we don't have

[8:54] the staff we can't bring in the

[8:55] veterans

[8:58] and also there is a reduced

[9:00] number of veterans on our

[9:02] waiting list. we see what we're

[9:03] seeing is more veterans waiting

[9:03] longer to come into the homes

[9:09] we're also seeing that that a

[9:10] reduction of the number of

[9:12] veterans on our waiting list so

[9:14] we have less to less to choose

[9:16] from we're also seeing a an

[9:19] increase in memory care veterans

[9:22] which have a higher number which

[9:23] require a higher number of of

[9:23] caregivers so

[9:27] a lot of things go into that and

[9:30] by reducing our our count our

[9:32] bed count with the VA it

[9:34] increases our our reimbursement

[9:36] from the VA right now we're not

[9:38] meeting the minimum requirements

[9:39] so we're we're losing money that

[9:39] way

[9:44] talked about the home staffing

[9:46] particularly we see that in in

[9:48] St. James and Warrensburg but

[9:50] occasionally you know the start

[9:52] of school and holidays we see

[9:54] that reduction of staffing

[9:54] people

[10:00] time frames in all of the homes

[10:02] but primarily in St. James and

[10:03] Warrensburg

[10:07] so that's the homemes I like to

[10:10] say that we're in we've done

[10:14] year two of our veteran suicide

[10:16] prevention that's one person

[10:17] doing that. I'll keep that in

[10:18] mind so we have made

[10:20] recommendations in our left to

[10:22] boom report if you haven't read

[10:24] that I'd encourage you to to

[10:26] read the Left aboom report

[10:28] because first year kind of laid

[10:29] the groundwork second year we're

[10:30] given recommendations and we'll

[10:32] continue to do that going

[10:33] forward in the next

[10:36] year. I will saylindsay is our

[10:38] veteran suicide prevention

[10:40] coordinator but we've also she's

[10:42] our our women's veterans

[10:43] coordinator. We just started

[10:46] that this year and rejuvenated

[10:47] it we hadn't had one in several

[10:48] years and it's the right thing

[10:49] to do

[10:56] when it comes to the cemeteries,

[10:59] huge leaps forward thanks to you

[11:02] in that our our equipment has

[11:06] been updated our staff are you

[11:08] know it's amazing the equipment

[11:10] being updated did more to

[11:12] increase the staff morale than

[11:14] pay raises and mean they were so

[11:15] frustrated with the equipment

[11:16] and that has done so much our

[11:18] cemeteries are among the finest

[11:21] when I travel my wife hates it

[11:22] but when I travel I stop at

[11:23] Veterans cemeteries throughout

[11:26] the the country and I don't find

[11:28] any better than ours guarantee

[11:30] you that. Please stop at one,

[11:31] talk to the staff, thank them

[11:32] for what they're doing if you

[11:34] haven't because they're they're

[11:35] doing they're doing God's work

[11:35] out there

[11:38] when it comes to our our

[11:40] veterans service officers we

[11:42] have about50 veteran service

[11:44] officers which is equates to a

[11:48] 3000 to1 3000 veterans for every

[11:50] service veterans service officer

[11:52] whether it's ours the American

[11:56] Legion DAV VFW all those so that

[11:58] tells you their workload our our

[12:00] veteran service officers worked

[12:02] very hard and they have to know

[12:04] everything from law to medicine

[12:05] to you name it they got to they

[12:05] hear about it so

[12:10] it is it is tough we've we've

[12:12] stopped the we were losing a lot

[12:14] of veteran service officers we

[12:16] stopped that thanks again to

[12:20] their pay increases

[12:25] in part to just we we've our

[12:27] team has done a good job of

[12:30] increasing that morale but you

[12:34] will see going forward the

[12:36] claims agents are in claims

[12:36] shark bills at least I hope so

[12:40] and what I would ask is that

[12:44] and I think there's progress

[12:45] to it let's let's come up with

[12:45] one

[12:46] one

[12:53] if we have too many to too many

[12:55] bills out there it muddies the

[12:57] water makes things a lot more

[13:01] difficult and for everyone but

[13:04] mostly our veterans and I want

[13:06] to point out that that money if

[13:08] it's a claim shark that money's

[13:09] going out of state it doesn't

[13:09] stay in Missouri

[13:12] that's money thousands of

[13:14] dollars that are going to

[13:14] someone else other than our

[13:15] veterans

[13:19] and then this is not a this is

[13:22] not a problem that is new this

[13:24] is something we've we saw after

[13:26] the revolutionary War after the

[13:27] Civil War

[13:34] I'm not saying that claims

[13:35] agents are bad. I'm just saying

[13:36] I want you to think about that

[13:38] there's there there we need to

[13:41] come up with some way of putting

[13:44] guidelines in place to to to

[13:46] make sure that we're we're

[13:48] taking care of the veterans in

[13:52] Missouri also bring up property

[13:53] tax exemptions I don't know one

[13:55] way or the other. I know it's I

[13:56] know it's it would be best for

[13:58] Missouri's veterans to have have

[14:00] that. I know that that's

[14:01] probably the number one

[14:04] call I get from veterans who are

[14:06] who are wondering about

[14:08] veteran's benefits they don't

[14:08] ask about the homes they don't

[14:10] ask about the cemeteries they

[14:12] ask what do we have for property

[14:13] tax and they do that because

[14:14] when they're getting out of the

[14:16] military they they shop around

[14:19] they shop of states and

[14:20] whichever one is going to be

[14:22] their best interests a lot of

[14:22] them are going to go to that

[14:25] state so that that's food for

[14:26] thought if we don't do something

[14:28] we're going to we are falling

[14:29] behind other states

[14:37] again want to thank you all for

[14:38] everything you do Representative

[14:40] Griffith, I feel like I'm

[14:40] losing my right arm.

[14:44] can't tell you how bad this

[14:44] hurts to

[14:50] you're no longer you know be

[14:52] part of the commission itself

[14:53] howlle

[14:56] invaluable to us thank you for

[14:58] what you've done keeping us

[14:59] informed keeping him straight

[14:59] probably most of the time

[15:04] but thank you all for

[15:04] everything you do for Missouri's

[15:05] veterans with that all

[15:07] One thing

[15:10] colonel if you would

[15:12] kind of give an update on the

[15:13] veteran's home in St. Lou

[15:17] So we had we've had quite a bit

[15:20] of construction go on in in St.

[15:21] Louis

[15:25] going to say it's we're a victim

[15:28] of our process in that lowest

[15:30] bidder isn't always best bidder

[15:34] and so whenever you you know

[15:36] I was an army engineer one of

[15:38] the things I knew was if you

[15:39] have a drain you have fall to it

[15:42] it should drain to the drain

[15:46] right evidently the construction

[15:47] company in St. Louis didn't

[15:48] believe that or know about that

[15:50] and so the the drain this is

[15:52] just one example of the problem

[15:54] the drains were draining to the

[15:56] room away from the drain the

[15:57] water was from the showers

[16:00] so so that's that's just an

[16:02] example probably the most

[16:04] egregious example of the

[16:05] problems that we had in the

[16:05] construction

[16:09] in St. Louis we finally got rid

[16:09] of that contractor

[16:11] started anew

[16:15] and we have 22 wings that are

[16:17] under construction. One is under

[16:18] construction that's the one with

[16:20] the improper fall and one that's

[16:22] being getting ready for

[16:24] construction we're we're on the

[16:26] right track now but from the

[16:28] time I started this that that

[16:30] construction of that those wings

[16:32] in St. Louis has been going on

[16:34] since before I've started and

[16:35] I've been here7 years

[16:38] and think about this that's

[16:40] money lost to the eteran's

[16:42] commission because that's money

[16:44] and reimbursement that's

[16:46] veterans who aren't in a home

[16:48] who could be because oddly

[16:49] enough St. Louis is one of them

[16:50] that I could staff but I can't

[16:51] because

[16:56] I feel like we're on the

[16:58] right track. I said as I said in

[17:00] St. Louis we've got a good

[17:02] contractor we are getting

[17:04] support from OA FMDC now

[17:08] and so I'm'm I see that going

[17:10] well but we we still have

[17:12] construction problems

[17:13] Warrensburg's kind of going

[17:15] through that same thing of what

[17:16] we went through in St. Louis but

[17:18] just on a different project it's

[17:20] not all the contractors but

[17:23] there are some problems when it

[17:25] comes to lowest bidder

[17:26] requirements and construct

[17:32] And I think it's

[17:36] it's just a shame that we got we

[17:38] have we have the veterans who

[17:40] can get into these these homes

[17:41] especially in

[17:46] paul and his staff have kind of

[17:47] moved some people around

[17:50] get the numbers up to where they

[17:51] need to be

[17:52] but

[17:56] is a timeline when this is going

[17:57] to be

[18:00] And I even though I'm not going

[18:01] to be here

[18:06] kind of segues into the next

[18:07] thing I

[18:11] if you have not been to a

[18:11] veteran's home

[18:19] one thing you're gonna notice

[18:20] that when you walk into

[18:24] if we're going into a nursing

[18:25] home

[18:28] I won't say all of them but the

[18:29] big majority of them

[18:34] and you will not find

[18:38] that's there

[18:42] the care that's there the people

[18:44] that are there that are the

[18:44] staff that are working there

[18:50] we are blessed to have them with

[18:51] us and have them

[18:54] of them could leave us and go to

[18:56] work somewhere else and get paid

[19:02] but it's their way of and when

[19:03] you talk about public servants

[19:03] it's

[19:06] iv back to those that have

[19:06] served

[19:12] I'm glad that we the leg

[19:14] help keep them

[19:18] same thing is true with the with

[19:19] the cemeteries if

[19:24] memorial Day is a great day

[19:24] to go to those

[19:32] any questions from the

[19:42] thank you for the work that you

[19:44] have done and you continue to do

[19:46] there was a the baptist home had

[19:47] a

[19:49] bought a facility and was

[19:50] putting in a veteran's home in

[19:52] the Kansas City area which runs

[19:54] a part of that or did was you

[19:56] aware of any of that? No sir to

[19:58] either one I was not aware and

[20:00] we're not a part of that OK I

[20:03] didn't know be quite frank7 is

[20:03] enough

[20:08] and we're we're blessed with

[20:10] that mostst states only have one

[20:12] if they have any at all so no

[20:14] wasn't aware of that but I'm not

[20:17] looking to I would not look to

[20:20] increase our thank you very much

[20:21] the only thing I'd like to add

[20:22] is thank you chairman for the

[20:25] job you have done and it's been

[20:28] a pleasure to serve the last two

[20:30] years on this committee and you

[20:32] set the bar pretty high for the

[20:33] next the next person so thank

[20:34] you Mrr Chairman.

[20:35] Boykin

[20:42] to inquire good morning so you

[20:44] said there were50 VSOs is

[20:46] that across the entire state?

[20:49] correct so there's50 of the

[20:51] Missouri eteran's Commission VSs

[20:53] and then the organizations have

[20:56] VSos as well but if I think

[20:58] there's about 137 total but many

[21:01] of those don't do claim work or

[21:03] they do part time claim work so

[21:05] what you'll find is and they do

[21:05] great work

[21:08] in the in the veterans

[21:10] organizations but a lot of times

[21:12] they're in the in the urban

[21:14] areas so you'll find them in St.

[21:15] Louis, Kannessee, Springfield

[21:16] but you don't find them in the

[21:18] rural areas so we're one of the

[21:20] things that we we try to do is

[21:23] get to veterans who would would

[21:24] would not otherwise have one

[21:25] close by

[21:26] you ma'am

[21:28] d questions

[21:33] I want to close up this the

[21:34] hearing and thank you Paul

[21:34] for being here

[21:40] I do want to encourage you that

[21:41] are going to be back here again

[21:41] next year

[21:43] they're we're gonna have a

[21:43] veteran's caucus

[21:45] it's going to be made up

[21:49] of both Democrats and

[21:50] Republicans and the caucus is

[21:51] going to be

[21:52] kind of the

[21:57] looking at bills that we're

[21:58] going to be able to present

[21:58] forward and

[22:02] and have one voice on bills and

[22:03] not have

[22:06] 9 bills all for the same thing

[22:10] we can't unfortunately we can't

[22:11] have our analysts

[22:16] they're limited as to what they

[22:17] how much they can tell you

[22:20] tell you that

[22:22] referee Brimley already fi filed

[22:24] that same bill so you can you

[22:25] don't have to file it

[22:28] but if we've got a caucus we

[22:29] can talk about those

[22:35] and when it comes to veteran's

[22:38] bills that's also a segue is to

[22:39] try to limit the number of

[22:40] bills that we have

[22:44] if they're all all the same bill

[22:46] let's get behind one and

[22:46] cosponsor it if you

[22:50] But I would encourage you that

[22:53] and vice chair

[22:54] that you

[22:55] talk with them

[23:01] we all are we're all on the same

[23:01] page

[23:04] any other comments from the

[23:04] committee

[23:10] that concludes the veterans and

[23:11] armmed Forcesittee. We now stand

[23:11] an adjourn

Veterans and Armed Forces

Transcript