Missouri Veterans Commission Chairman Tim Noonan Archives

Missouri Veterans Commission chairman resigns, taking issue with Gov. Parson statement

January 1, 2021 By Ashley Byrd

Missouri Veterans Commission chairman Tim Noonan resigned his volunteer post late Thursday, saying “Fundamental values were crossed,” by Governor Mike Parson when he stated “I’m not going to worry about everybody’s personal lives that sit on a commission or chairman,” in response to a question about an investigation into a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Missouri’s Veterans homes. To date, the commission reports that 158 veterans in their facilities have died of coronavirus since September.

During a Capitol press conference Wednesday, Missourinet asked Parson to elaborate on what changes he wants after an independent report listed causes of COVID-19 spread inside the state’s seven long-term care facilities that serve veterans.

Parson called for an independent investigation into COVID-19 deaths in state veterans homes (file photo courtesy governor’s office)

“I’ve got to be careful with that,” he said. “I’m going to do everything within my power to make sure they (veterans) are taken care of. If people didn’t do their job is why I called for the investigation to expose that, if that is the case. The veterans will be a priority. I’m not going to worry about everybody’s personal lives that sit on a commission or a chairman. I’m just going to absolutely worry about the veterans and that is my whole focus.”

Noonan told Missourinet that his resignation had nothing to do with the release of the full investigation report that same day, though he disagreed with publishing the 415-pages of details of the Armstrong Teasdale review. Read related story.

Noonan assumed the role of the only spokesman and advocate for MVC staff after the report’s summary was published, shielding veterans home employees and the agency’s director from the press and public comment. However, Noonan said the role of the commission overseeing the agency is often unclear.

Noonan has recently spoken out about having little or no say in money being appropriated from his agency to the Veterans Community Project, a non-profit serving homeless veterans, especially when revenue and staffing are down.

“The commission is independent and shouldn’t be batted around for political gain,” he texted after his resignation. “Hopeful someone will pick up the flag.”

Noonan served in the Marine Corps and is a former executive with Boeing. He was appointed to the post by Gov. Eric Greitens in 2017.

Missouri Veteran’s Commission releases detailed report on deadly COVID-19 outbreak in 7 veterans homes

December 31, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

The oversight commission of the Missouri Veterans Commission released the remaining details of an investigation into a deadly COVID-19 outbreak in its seven nursing homes today. To date, 158 veterans have died since September.

FULL REPORT

The Missouri Attorney General directed Chairman Tim Noonan to release the report, against Noonan’s objections. Noonan’s Letter to the attorney general argues that the detailed report was protected under attorney-client privilege.

State Senator Jill Schupp argued in public that the 415-page document should be released under the Sunshine Law. Noonan and other commissioners were concerned about the legal liability of staff, commissioners, and the agency itself.

“Are we creating a record that puts employees at risk, are we creating a potential roadmap for litigation against the state? These are all prudent business decisions that one makes when they have responsibility as the chair of a commission,” Noonan said in an interview with Missourinet just before the release of the report. Letters released by the Attorney General’s office to Missourinet show Noonan sought legal advice from the governor’s office as early as November 23.

He got a response from the attorney general yesterday: Attorney General’s opinion letter addressed the disclosure of information.

Noonan said the full report reveals there is “a lot of accountability and responsibility up and down the chain of command here,” including daily governance.

“The summary report was thorough, it was robust, it was fact-based and it was actionable. There was nothing inside the detailed report that stands in the way of driving the reforms and transformation that are already underway.

“There is no smoking gun in the report. It was systemic, it had issues to do with communication and hierarchy, it had to do with data analysis that was happening in the Missouri Veterans Commission but also happening in the “fusion cell” — data that was presented by the Veterans Commission to the fusion cell that was supposed to be analyzed and made into actionable intelligence, the fusion cell missed it along with the Veterans Commission.”

The “Fusion Cell,” according to the summary report, is the state’s collective response to the COVID-19 and “is meant to be a single point of information for all Missouri agencies.” It also included the consultation of the McChrystal Group, outside advisors hired by the Missouri Foundation for Health.

Veterans Commission says homes need transformation: “We have to assume we’ll be hit like this again

December 16, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

The chairman of the Missouri Veterans Commission has met and held town halls with the staff of its seven homes and headquarters in the aftermath of a report critical of leadership’s lack of planning and policy. According to the commission website, Chairman Tim Noonan reviewed the root cause and corrective actions from the report and received candid and constructive feedback. Noonan also said they discussed plans on how to move forward as an organization to provide the best care for veterans.

MVC Chairman Tim Noonan addressed commissioners and investigators via video conference

The volunteer members of the Missouri Veterans Commission last week heard in person (virtually) the details of a 53-page investigation into the handling of a COVID-19 outbreak in its long-term care facilities. The report by national law firm Armstrong Teasdale was ordered by Governor Mike Parson in October after a September spike in virus-related deaths at some of its veterans homes. At least 145 veterans have died in the homes since September.

In the December 11 video conference, Armstrong Teasdale’s principal investigators presented their recommendations, as outlined in their report.

“The key to those recommendations is that MVC focus on planning,” summarized attorney Ida Shafaie. “And make sure the staff is trained to a standard and they understand what needs to be done. We see this as very important, not just as MVC approaches COVID and how they handle the rest of this pandemic, but it’s important because none of us knows what the next pandemic going to look like and we don’t know what COVID’s going to look like in the future, so it’s important that MVC use the time and knowledge they have now to develop these protocols so that the next time an infectious disease, unfortunately, rears its ugly head MVC and their staff are prepared on what they need to do.”

Noonan was the only commissioner to speak at the video conference. Executive Director Col. Paul Kirchhoff did not speak.

Noonan said the report “is tough but it’s fair.”

“We’ve already started implementing a number of these recommendations,” he said. “We’ve started our COVID reset.”

United States Senator Josh Hawley, who serves on the Armed Services Committee, has called for changes at the commission since the report’s release.

Noonan responded, “Yes, we need change but more importantly we need transformation. We need to realize we need to take care of our front line in a new and different way.”

Noonan says every long-term care facility is facing a shortage of CNA’s and the commission must be competitive in pay. “We’ve got to think and be innovative about how we run our homes and realize that the competition is all around us for talent and for serving our veterans,” he said.

The commission gets revenue from various unrelated programs around the state, including riverboat casinos and the new state medical marijuana program. Noonan said, “”We also have to ensure that the monies that are due to the Veterans Commission, old sources and new sources, are put to their highest and best use.”

I’m hopeful that this wasn’t a dress rehearsal but we have to view it as one, because we have to assume we’re going to be hit like this again.” Noonan concluded.

Armstrong Teasdale: Missouri veterans homes should undergo a COVID-19 reset (AUDIO)

December 3, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

An independent investigation into the recent COVID-19 deaths at Missouri veterans homes has found that the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) headquarters failed to recognize the outbreak.

Armstrong Teasdale’s 53-page report says MVC should have recognized the presence of an outbreak in the veterans home in southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau by September 2.

MVC Chairman Tim Noonan says a tremendous amount of data was coming in.

“When the data was analyzed, there should have been a faster response to really recognize that the outbreak was growing in a way that ran faster than the protocols that we had in place,” Noonan says.

29 veterans have died from COVID at the Cape Girardeau veterans home since September 1, and there have been 34 deaths at the home in northwest Missouri’s Cameron. There have been 138 deaths at veterans homes statewide since September.

Armstrong Teasdale’s report also found a failure on the part of MVC headquarters to respond to the outbreak. Armstrong Teasdale’s report says MVC headquarters “was lulled into a false sense of security and failed to capitalize on its early successes” in the spring.

“The Veterans Commission should have anticipated an inevitability that the virus would get in (to the veterans homes), and if it did get in, how fast it could spread,” says Noonan.

Noonan tells Missourinet that this was a complex problem that overwhelmed very well-intended people.

The report notes that COVID cases among veterans at the homes jumped from two in August to 173 in September. Staff cases increased from eight in August to 74 in September.

Armstrong Teasdale’s report makes dozens of recommendations, including calling on MVC headquarters and veterans homes to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 outbreak plan.

The report notes that some veterans have roommates and share toilet and shower facilities. Armstrong Teasdale recommends that veterans reside in private rooms with private bathrooms, “to the extent possible.”

Armstrong Teasdale is also recommending that all Missouri veterans homes undergo a “COVID-19 reset,” meaning fundamental education regarding COVID and how to prevent its spread.

They also recommend that MVC consider retaining an occupational health nurse on headquarters staff, through the end of the pandemic. Another recommendation is making sure that veterans in the homes receive priority, when a safe vaccine becomes available.

Chairman Noonan is reviewing the recommendations closely.

“We’re going to take them all (recommendations) seriously and implement the ones that we think are going to have an impact,” Noonan says. “And definitely, staffing matters. Having the right talent, doing the right job matters.”

Noonan says MVC will drive the reforms that are needed. He also praises MVC staff, including its nurses and CNA’s, saying they have been working hard during the pandemic.

Noonan praises Armstrong Teasdale’s investigators as well, noting they are veterans.

He says MVC’s job as leaders and managers must be to anticipate problems, just not fix them. He says the commission can do better in anticipating problems, in communicating and in making sure the staff has the resources that they need.

Another section of the report highlights the emotional toll the pandemic has taken on veterans living in Missouri veterans homes. Veterans currently cannot see family members, due to COVID concerns.

The report recommends that the homes establish a protocol to allow a limited number of designated family members to visit their loves one, saying it will provide veterans the contact they desperately need and will provide staff some relief.

“Some of the many ways in which family members are instrumental in their loved ones’ care include feeding or coaxing to eat, cleaning ears to help them hear better, helping them shower, providing passive range of motion, getting them out of bed, helping them turn in bed to prevent bedsores, trimming their eyebrows, brushing their teeth, dressing them and communicating with the medical team,” Armstrong Teasdale’s report reads, in part.

The report also says that it’s clear that MVC headquarters and homes staff genuinely care for the veterans. One family member told an investigator “They treated him (her veteran family member) like a hero.”

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview (11:25) with Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) Chairman Tim Noonan, which was recorded on December 2, 2020: