PR ousts advocate over problems at vets' home

By DANICA COTO

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico

Discovery of poor conditions at the only government-funded home for elderly veterans in Puerto Rico has led the governor to oust the island's veterans advocate, who said Wednesday he had repeatedly tried to correct the problems.

Gov. Luis Fortuno named a commission to oversee and correct problems at the Casa del Veterano, which houses 154 veterans in the southern town of Juana Diaz.

Veteran Affairs Advocate Jorge Mas, who was asked by the governor to resign, said a federal inspection in January discovered that residents were not being fed on time or given care for ulcers, infections or other problems.

Mas said he and other officials repeatedly asked the managing company Bridge for Health Inc. to correct the problems and even moved to revoke the company's contract after a June 2009 report found it lacked the knowledge and personnel to care for residents.

"Each inspection has found a series of deficiencies that they have refused to correct," he said. "Because of that, we are at risk of losing federal funds."

Mas said the company won a court ruling blocking removal of its contract pending arbitration hearings.Personnel at Casa del Veterano referred company-related questions to an attorney who did not return messages for comment.

Bridge for Health began administering the home on July 16, 2008, after officials terminated the contract of the previous operator because of similar problems, said Sen. Luz Arce, who presides over the U.S. territorial legislature's Commission of Veteran Affairs.

"But the problems have continued," Arce said, adding that she is most disturbed by complaints that the local pharmacy did not issue medications because there were no doctors available to prescribe them.

Mas, who was named advocate in January 2009, said he was reviewing proposals last week from three companies interested in managing the home when Fortuno aides told him to suspend those efforts so they could create a plan to terminate Bridge for Health.

On Tuesday, Fortuno announced that he asked Mas to resign.

"I am indignant and disappointed to hear that the attention these heroes have received is deficient, or even that their lives have been put at risk," the governor said.

Joaquin Rodriguez, president of the local chapter of Disabled American Veterans, said he visits the home every year and was surprised at its deterioration in recent years, including peeling paint and dirty floors.

"The patients, when you talk to them, they say there are hardly any nurses," Rodriguez said. "One told me that food portions were meager, and that he was not cared for well."