Veterans advocate cries foul over facility issues

Jace Radke and Ed Koch

Monday, March 19, 2001 | 10:42 a.m.

The leader of a Southern Nevada veterans group says veterans have been deceived by state officials regarding the long-delayed and over-budget Boulder City nursing home.

However, the head of the veterans home says although the facility, which is slated to open in July, does not live up to early artist's renderings, it will be one of the finest skilled nursing care homes in Southern Nevada.

"We were promised things, and those promises have been broken," said Ed Goebel, president of the Council of Nevada Veterans Organizations. On Sunday Goebel spoke to about 50 veterans at the Lowden Veteran Center and Museum on 3333 Cambridge St.

Jon Sias, director of the skilled-nursing facility that also is under fire from state lawmakers for cost overruns and delays, said today the home is "sufficient enough to do the job at a level of quality equal to anything else that is available to any senior citizens in Southern Nevada."

Construction is expected to be completed by late April and the changes that irk Goebel and other veterans include the scaling back of the veterans home from about 115,000 square feet to 82,000 square feet and the elimination of aviaries, a reptile habitat and aquarium and $1 million in landscaping. Another concern is that instead of one bathroom for every two veterans there is now one bathroom for every four patients.

"As late as 1999 and 2000 in the slide presentation that was shown to us, these changes were not a part of the plan," Goebel said. "But according to the original plans filed with the state in July of 1998, it was always around 82,000 square feet and there were always going to be four veterans to each bathroom. ... We have been deceived."

Sias, however, says much of the criticism is based on what was seen in early artist's renderings and on suggestions that were bandied about in the planning stages of the project, long before financing and other logistics were discussed.

"Part of the original 115,000 square feet, as I understand it, was for an Alzheimers unit, for which there was no need or money to build it," Sias said.

"The animal habitats also were part of artist renderings and never were included in any budget. I believe I have identified funds for the animal habitats. But before I would expend those funds for animal habitats, I would make sure all of the health care needs were met."

As for the bathroom situation, Sias admits it "is not optimal, but not unusual" for two hospital rooms to share a common bathroom between them.

Sias said that representatives of numerous veterans groups have approached him to ask how they can help, while one specific group -- Goebel's -- has led the way as a minority voice in protests against the facility.

Goebel claims his group is an umbrella agency that represents 62 veterans associations. However, major veterans groups have said Goebel and CONVO do not speak for them.

Veterans groups aside, powerful lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, and Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, are questioning cost overruns and falling behind schedule.