Veterans home director ousted

Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 | 9:28 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- John Sias, who has been director of the fledgling state Veterans Home in Boulder City for the past three years, has been given his walking papers and he says he can't find out why.

Sias said he was told by state Veteran Affairs Commissioner Chuck Fulkerson to clean out his desk by noon Thursday.

"I resigned under pressure and duress," said Sias, 52.

The home has been plagued by problems from the start. Its opening was delayed for more than one year and construction went over budget by more than $1 million.

Fulkerson said he asked for the resignation and he has been advised by the state attorney general's office not to discuss the reasons.

"This is a personnel matter," Fulkerson said.

Fulkerson said it was his decision alone, and that Ray Heath, administrative service officer, will run the home until a new licensed nursing home administrator can be hired for the job, whose authorized maximum pay is $80,914.

"I was given no reason," Sias said. "Fulkerson is hiding behind the 'at will' statute and he is not giving out any information." He said he did not have any run-ins with Fulkerson and he asked for reconsideration.

He was told by Fulkerson it was a "closed deal."

"I didn't get any respect," Sias said. He said the "summary discharge" was "callous and reprehensible. It's immoral."

Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, said she was happy to hear Sias had been forced to resign. She noted that Sias hired about 28 staff members long before the home opened, and when Sias appeared before the Legislative Interim Finance Committee, he "never presented facts to us."

"This is good news," Tiffany said of the ouster.

She said she and Sias had a disagreement over the early staffing. When Sias returned to Boulder City, he asked his staff to participate in a letter-writing campaign against her.

"When can a legislator not ask questions that they don't like?" she asked.

The home currently has six patients. The state must undergo inspections by Medicaid and Medicare and the Department of Veterans Affairs before it can start accepting more patients.

Fulkerson said there are about 100 applications being processed for the home. He said he hopes to have a permanent replacement for Sias in 90 days.

In the meantime, Fulkerson said a contractor with a nursing home administrator's license would be hired temporarily. Heath does not have the license, which is required for certification to fully open. The contractor would allow the home to gain the accreditation it needs and would not delay the progress, he said.

The 1997 Legislature approved a $19.3 million construction for 180 beds for the home in Boulder City. Of that amount $6.7 million came from the state and the rest from the federal government. The construction costs exceeded that by more than $1 million.

The state Public Works Board replaced the contractor and the dispute is now in court.