Endangered nursing facilities for Maine veterans to stay open after all

Maine Veterans' Homes facilities in Machias and Caribou, which had been in danger of closing, will stay open after all.

The nonprofit's board of trustees voted Friday to keep the facilities open, one day after Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill, sponsored by state Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Aroostook, intended to help keep them that way.

MVH announced plans in March to close the facilities, citing operational losses, a decline in the number of residents and difficulty hiring workers.

Together, the new homes have routinely lost about $2 million annually for several years, the nonprofit has said. This year, the homes are on track to lose $3 mililion.

Maine's new law, LD 2001, spells out the Legislature's intent in the creation of the Maine Veterans’ Homes; lays out a public and transparent closure process; and puts back into statute the six municipalities where Maine Veterans’ Homes must be located.

Mills has also dedicated $3.5 million to keep the homes open.

"This vote is a much-deserved victory for our veterans, their families, and the staff at the Homes in Caribou and Machias," Mills said in a news release. "Our veterans have earned the right to receive care near their families in the communities they love.

“With the work of Senate President Jackson, the unanimous support of the Legislature, and now a vote from the MVH Board of Trustees, we will keep these two homes open, keep these veterans where they are, keep the staff employed, and work together to ensure that we serve the needs of veterans, particularly those in rural Maine, in the long-term. I thank the MVH Board of Trustees for their vote.”

Looking ahead, Jackson added, "We must continue working to ensure that the Maine Veterans’ Homes can continue serving veterans and their families in rural Maine, fulfilling the promise made by the Legislature more than 30 years ago.”

The Maine Veterans’ Homes were established by the Maine Legislature in 1977 as a state-chartered nonprofit to provide long-term care to veterans and eligible military spouses.

Besides the facilities in Machias and Caribou, Maine Veterans' Homes operates facilities in Augusta, Bangor, Scarborough and South Paris; together they have 640 beds. The nonprofit is separate from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.