John Budrick, center, a resident of the Long Island State Veterans Home (LISVH) at Stony Brook University, greets United States Senator Hillary Rodam Clinton (D-NY) during her visit to the State Veterans Home this summer. Also pictured are Fred Sganga, Executive Director, LISVH/Interim CEO, Stony Brook University Hospital, flanking Sen. Clinton, and LISVH staff.
STONY BROOK, NY -- In a show of support for veterans’ growing healthcare and service needs, United States Senator Hillary Rodam Clinton (D-NY), the first New York State Senator to serve on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, spoke to hundreds of veterans at the Long Island State Veterans Home (LISVH) at Stony Brook University on July 22. Her visit was welcomed by LISVH residents, veterans’ families, along with state and local legislators, LISVH administrators and employees.
Sen. Clinton announced her co-sponsorship of the “Veterans Long-Term Care Security Act of 2006” (S. 2762), which, if passed, will bring additional benefits and services to veterans across the United States. This legislation would authorize the Veterans Administration (VA) to pay State Veterans Homes for the care of veterans who have become 70% disabled while serving in the military. Currently, the VA pays for the care of these disabled veterans at private nursing homes, but does not provide reimbursement care at a State Veterans Home. Another key component of the bill calls for the VA to report to Congress before implementing any reduction in the VA per diem, a federal benefit granted to State Homes to help improve the quality of care for the veterans they serve.
“The protection and preservation of the VA per diem program is crucial to the fiscal survival of many State Veterans Homes across the country,” says Fred S. Sganga, Executive Director, LISVH. “This program helps provide the quality care and quality of life our veterans deserve. We applaud Sen.Clinton for her continued commitment to caring for our nation’s veterans and her unwavering support of the State Veterans Home program.”
The LISVH at Stony Brook University is a 350 bed skilled nursing facility that also operates a 50-registrant medical model Adult Day Health Care program. It is of 120 State Veterans Homes in the United States and Puerto Rico. The LISVH operates under the auspices of the Health Sciences Center of Stony brook University and remains one of only a few nursing homes in the country that is fully integrated into the health and educational mission of an academic medical center.
