Veterans Victory House

Hopeful

I want to say 2 but I say 3 because people need to know what I found there and maybe they can make changes. These are human beings we are sending there. They have served our country and are fathers husbands sons brothers. We love them. It is a good thing to keep in mind which I had to keep doing, that this is a last resort. We bring our fathers, our loved ones here because we have no other option. This was my case. My dad lived with us part time then with my sister part time. We shared his care. He was no trouble but required a lot of care and when he couldn’t manage his day to day caring for himself any longer and when he couldn’t walk and needed 24 hour care, we chose VVH. Our plan was to care for him until we no longer were able and that’s what we did. I knew that this would not be like living with us and hoped it would be better because he would have constant care and he needed it. My dad went there in September of 2024 and passed away in November 2024. I will say that he was a very challenging case. He required tremendous attention based on his needs. When he got there he couldn’t walk. He was not able to get up to go to the bathroom on his own or even turn his TV off and on. So I understand that it is impossible to give a person moment by moment care 24 hours a day and he needed it. He was also nearly blind with some dementia. Very light because he was just forgetting things and couldn’t manage tasks. But he was of sound mind and was very aware. The nurses there were wonderful. Some of the CNAs were very nice but for the most part they were not. They did not seem to like their jobs and in the end we heard a recording of him being mistreated by a CNA. He never complained and was one of the kindest people think I have ever met. He would sit and wait and wait and wait then thank anyone who came to help. I’d like to thank Hospice and the Hospice nurses who helped us. I don’t know what I would have done without them. My dad was dying when he entered VVH of heart failure and kidney failure. He wore a urostomy bag and his abdomen was swelling daily along with his lung area. He needed constant care and almost daily his bag broke and they had to make it work and sometimes it was impossible. They did their best. But there are some things I actually can’t believe they don’t do to make lives better there. Eventhough this is the gateway for most to their eternal state whether it is with Jesus or without him based on each persons choice, these people need loving kindness and need to be treated with more care and tenderness. No one comes to the rooms to offer to take them to the cafeteria or to the porch or to an activity. If they can’t get there themselves they are imprisoned in their rooms. Alone. For hours on end, alone. I asked and asked and they just have no one to do that. It is minimal basic needs to be humane and that is it. When it came close to the time of my dad’s death, He was very sick and wanted to get into bed early after sitting in his chair from sun up to sundown. I had to call and beg and plead for nurses to help him into bed. My husband and I went one night and did it ourselves and as we walked down the hall I heard one voice pleading with a nurse for help. It was my dad. We got him dressed and comfortably in bed. I visited my dad every day because I knew he didn’t have very long and needed a lot of help and for that reason his care was a little better and the loneliness helped some. But there were many hours we were not there each day and during that time he basically sat alone in silence with very little help. I got there earlier one morning and they were getting him out of bed rather late. He was in the same clothes he wore the day before with crumbs on his shirt from dinner the night before. I asked the CNA why he wasn’t wearing his night clothes? I had his night clothes in abundance for him so he could sleep in comfort. She said they just put everyone in bed wearing their clothes. They put new clothes on them the next morning. But that wasn’t always the case. Some days he wore the same clothes for two days. It was just negligent. Who treats someone like that? Now I will say that the care seemed to have nothing to do with the fact that this is a veterans house. Before he went there he stayed at a smaller nursing care facility that is more temporary for respite care after a hospital stay. The cost is close to 12,000 per month. I’d say the care was a little better but not really much better. I wish that in every nursing home there were people who were full time from room to room a few times per day to take the residents there who can’t go on their own to activities or somewhere else to break up their day. Even just once a day. I also wish that it was someone’s job to just go get every single resident comfortably to bed when they want to go to bed. I’ll pray for that. In the end, my dad’s room was wonderful, bright sunny private clean and had a very lovely feel to it which meant a lot to me. I loved the front porch and that’s where we sat every day to have chips and a coke and chat. It’s very peaceful and clean and beautifully landscaped. How I wish with my whole heart that they were more closely attended and cared for. These are the residents final days for the most part. They are there because they have to be. I wish they would hire more qualified and kind and loving people to do the most difficult job there is. I’m very very thankful for all the people who lovingly helped us and took care of my father in his last days. I don’t know what I would have done without them. I would love to see them make these changes. It would be so pleasing to God.

Helen

I toured Veterans Victory House. I was very impressed with the staff giving me a tour of the facility. It was clean and neat. The staff was friendly, but they didn't have any beds available. They do have some private rooms, but they don't come out very often. They don't have very many of those. Their shared rooms were very nice. I thought the facility was so nice and everything looked nice, and a lot going on for the veterans. They had Sunday schools and church, meetings, Bible studies, activities, and card games. They took the residents out to ball games. They had food choices there. Even some of it for the ones that were able could have a buffet choice. I was impressed with it.

Rile

My father has been in the facility since June 2019 , the staff is caring and friendly the atmosphere is pleasant and the facility is spotless. My father has adjusted very well there and I'm very happy with the care.

sstory

My father has been at the Victory House for 3 years now. We would have loved for him to be able to stay in his home, but with his dementia and mom’s passing, this seemed to be the best place for him. The staff are caring and call whenever there is a concern or medicine change. Dad is usually very jovial and happy to visit with us and seems very settled on his unit. The quarterly care team meeting are informative and helpful in his care. We are thankful for our dad, his military service and the ultimate benefit of him having a home away from home.

SandyW

My dad would be alive if he didn't go to that nightmare place. I brought my father there in pretty good condition considering he was an amputee. He looked healthier than anyone in the place. A week later, he was in ICU on a ventilator. Six months later before I left town for a week, I asked the nurse, Keri, three times one night to have a dr see him the next day and that I thought he had a septic infection. She was extremely rude always to him and on this day to me. She kept arguing with me he was normal. I insisted he was not and she needed to have a Dr look at him. She neglected to ask for any medical care for him. He's now dead. I told her he acted weird like the two times he had sepsis They called me twice in one day throwing a fit over him using an unapproved hair conditioner. I still have the ridiculous voicemail. But said they couldn't call when they thought he needed to be hospitalized because he was "self care". However, a few days after I told the nurse I thought he had sepsis, they felt no need to call me and tell me they felt he needed hospitalized. I was his emergency contact. He was septic and didn't have the correct mindframe while being septic to make the choice to refuse to go. They waited two more days to take him to the hospital. This was right after I'd asked for medical care for him from Nurse Keri. If I would have been called, he'd probably be alive today. He died from sepsis after a three week hospital stay. They couldn't find any of his belongings for a week besides his wallet. It's now a month later and each week they tell me they found a few more items. These items missing include checkbooks and a brand new watch. I've called at least 20 times and the administrator refuses to return my calls. Now the head security guy remembers putting Dad's checkbooks and glasses in his own office for safe keeping. That's after I said I may need to file a police report. However, they refuse to send them to me and the brand new watch is still missing. After standing there for an hour, three months later, demanding they open the storage closets I found boxes of my dad's belongings. Still tons missing. I'll never forgive myself for not taking my dad to the hospital that night rather than trusting that nurse. .

Gizzie08

My father in law was at the Victory House for 3 years. The facility and staff were great with him. They interacted with him and always showed compassion & caring. They encouraged him to participate in activities, go to the dining room, and kept the family informed of issues or concerns. They were always welcoming to the family when we visited which was frequently. I was always impressed with the clean environment and the lack of urine smell one often smells upon entering a nursing home facility. The biggest drawback is the fact that he was separated from his wife after 65 years of marriage. Are the facility or staff perfect, no, we are all human and make mistakes but I truly feel that Victory House provided a much needed service and great care to him during his time in the facility. They were always caring, compassionate and respectful to him making his last days comfortable.