SACRAMENTO – The Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs voted Tuesday to approve a pair of bills by North Coast Senator Patricia Wiggins (D–Santa Rosa) to improve the quality of services and care at the Veterans Home in Yountville.

SB 560 requires the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by September 1, 2008 assessing the adequacy of services provided to the visually impaired residents at Yountville.

According to Sen. Wiggins, the issues she hopes to address include such things as daily menus and bulletins which can be difficult for visually-impaired residents to read.

“I have received complaints from visually impaired residents at Yountville, ranging from safety issues and paperwork they cannot read to not knowing what food they are putting on their dinner plates,” Wiggins says.

“While some of the issues facing the visually impaired are unique, it should not be difficult to come up with solutions.”

SB 565 calls for the establishment of a Hospital and Health Services Administrator position to be established at the Veterans Home in Yountville. Yountville is the only veterans home of California with an emergency room, skilled nursing facility, pharmacy, and (effective July 11) an Alzheimer/Dementia unit.

“They have a medical director and a nursing director but no one to administer and coordinate the medical care and medical personnel for all the facilities on the property,” Wiggins says.

“I believe that my bill will enable us to build on the foundation of care and service at Yountville to more adequately address the needs of our veterans who reside there.”

Patricia Wiggins, who represents California’s 2nd Senate District, is a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. The 2nd District includes portions or all of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano & Sonoma Counties.

Visit her Web site at http://dist02.casen.govoffice.com/.

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