FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wyss: Veterans home a step closer to being in veterans’ hands
STATEHOUSE – Hoosier veterans living in a soldier care facility in West Lafayette may see equal or better care under a change in management, according to State Sen. Tom Wyss (R-Fort Wayne).
Wyss said the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs would be in a good position to supervise the medical care of veterans and better understand individual needs of patients and would also allow the state department of health to focus on issues more in line with its mission.
A House of Representatives committee voted 9-0 today in favor of the bill that would move authority from Indiana’s Department of Health.
“This legislation sends a message to veterans that we are listening to their concerns and we want the best for them,” Wyss said. “I’ve received much support on behalf of this legislation and I look forward for the bill to move through the legislative process.”
The Indiana Veterans Home – located in Tippecanoe County near West Lafayette – is a licensed long-term care facility. Indiana State Soldiers’ Home opened in 1896 and was renamed the Indiana Veterans Home 80 years later.
“This is a step forward for both the Veterans Home and for the Department of Health,” Wyss said. “Aligning each organization’s mission more closely with its duties is a move that makes sense.”
Senate Bill 250 advances out of the House’s Veterans Affairs and Public Safety committee to the full House for second reading.
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