Some lawmakers call for state, federal reviews of Veterans Home at King, alleging it's mismanaged



KING, Wisconsin -- Some lawmakers say the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King has been mismanaged, and they're calling for reviews on both the state and federal levels.

After hearing concerns about the quality of care at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say changes are needed.

The comments follow a report from the Capital Times newspaper.

The article claims some patients, family members and employees have reported understaffing, unsanitary conditions, broken equipment and even residents potentially being overmedicated.

Lawmakers say they want to find out for sure.

"When health and welfare is becoming an issue, I thought 'hey, we better have an audit done to see what's going on,'" Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) said.

"It's a very sad day for me, because veterans, the men and women that are there, they deserve better," Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) said.

The Wisconsin Veterans Home at King is state run. A spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs said the claims are just not true.

"They have given us a five star rating out of five stars. We are confident that any additional audit or inspections going forward would find the same," Carla Vigue said.

The next stop for the audit request will be the 10-member Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

Senator Hansen said he'll be sending a letter to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to try to get them involved.

Lawmakers say the Veterans Home at King has a nearly $40 million surplus. They're calling for a ban on transfers of money from the home to any other state funds.