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Veterans Home resolves issue with resident group

The Hollidaysburg Veterans Home seems to have resolved at least some issues raised recently by a group of residents upon whom the home had imposed restrictions, connected with the group’s regular trips to the Tyrone VFW.

Until early summer, the home had transported the group on the fourth Wednesday of every month to the VFW, where the residents drank beer, listened to a band and ate from a buffet the VFW set out specifically for them — all for free, according to a resident who didn’t want his name used.

During the visit in July, however, staffers from the home who accompanied the men didn’t allow them to visit the bar on their own as usual, but instead permitted them to obtain beer only through the staffers, according to the resident.

“(We had) to ask them, and they would go get it,” the resident said.

Moreover, the staffers limited the men to three beers each, the resident said.

“Like we’re a bunch of criminals on a three-hour pass,” he said.

“Like they were prisoners or little kids,” said Tyrone VFW Commander Paul Campbell.

It was no longer “a fun trip,” the resident said.

The restrictions resulted in yelling during the visit, followed by cancellation of further trips to the VFW, according to the resident.

Complexity

It’s a little more complicated than that, according to Kurt Bopp, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which operates the home.

The home “greatly appreciate(s)” the hospitality of the Tyrone VFW, but that facility “has some limitations when it comes to being in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Bopp wrote in an email.

Previously, a resident visiting that VFW fell and received a knee injury due to a “non-compliant ADA issue,” Bopp wrote.

The facility’s limitations — which include lack of approved ramps and accessible restrooms — meant that staff needed to accompany the residents there, he said.

Moreover, the group comprised residents in both the skilled-nursing and personal-care categories “with specific health needs and restrictions, (which meant that) there is a need to monitor and limit alcohol intake to ensure there are no adverse effects to their health,” Bopp wrote.

Residents in the skilled-nursing category may only drink if permitted by doctor’s order and only as much as the order allows, Bopp wrote.

Personal-care residents may drink, but not if there’s a doctor’s order prohibiting that, he said.

“We do this at the Legion and at the home to keep the alcohol consumption in moderation and in conjunction with any health-related needs,” Bopp wrote. “Our decision to limit the attendance at the Tyrone VFW was made with the safety and well-being of our residents in mind.”

Solution

There’s a way out, however.

The first step toward that is a trip this fall for the group to the Tyrone American Legion, an acceptable alternative to the VFW.

“The VFW will support them (for that trip),” Campbell said.

“Then on to next spring,” Campbell said.

Next spring, the VFW, currently located just off the Tyrone exit of I-99, will have completed transition to a new facility on Old Route 220, not far from Teaberry Street, in the former Masonic Hall, Campbell said.

“(We) look forward to future events with this veteran service organization as they move to a new location that will be properly equipped for the attendance of our residents,” Bopp wrote.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

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