by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

News that veteran homes in Machias and Caribou will close later this spring has drawn criticism and pressure from Washington County to Augusta to Washington D.C.

The official announcement that Maine Veterans Homes Machias would close on April 15 and Caribou on May 1 came Thursday, Feb. 24, but the news broke unofficially the day before after employees and families spread word of the impending closures on social media.

Washington County Commissioners Chairman Chris Gardner says he is outraged by the sudden news of the closures, and that the commissioners will fight to keep both homes open.

“Right now the best thing we can do to stand up for these veterans is to demand a much more transparent conversation around this decision,” said Gardner, adding concerned citizens reach out to their state and federal officials.

“As a society, we made a promise to these veterans and that means all veterans not just those in the greater Bangor and Augusta area,” said Gardner.

Maine Veterans Homes is a private nonprofit, certified by but not operated by the Veterans Administration, and is overseen by a governor-appointed board of 11 trustees, all veterans. In total, MVH operates six Maine facilities in Bangor, Augusta, Saco, South Paris, Machias, and Caribou, each with a different focus of care. 

The Machias home is dedicated to dementia care for veterans. 

In 2019, MVH announced plans to build a 138-bed residential care facility in Augusta, then estimated to cost $90 million. Though a ribbon-cutting event was held there last August, current reports estimate it will not open until spring.

A ‘drastic move’

Already aware of the board’s desire to close Caribou and Machias, more than two weeks ago Governor Janet Mills wrote asking them to reconsider “this drastic move.” In a statement issued today, Feb. 25, Mills reiterated her position, saying she remains "deeply concerned."

"All of this is why earlier this month I wrote to the Board of Trustees to express my concerns, to ask them to reconsider their decision, and to inform them that I have instructed my Administration to be prepared to help them consider potential options other than closure. This offer still stands," wrote Mills.

In her letter dated Feb. 9, Mills restated two of the MVH board’s primary concerns — a shortage of qualified staff, and a steady decrease in the number of veterans served in Machias and Caribou, noting their closure would leave Maine with no veteran facilities Downeast or north of Bangor and would displace roughly 70 vets.

Urging the board to reconsider the closures in their entirety, Mills asked the board, at a minimum, to consider delaying closure for two years “...to provide ample time for continued dialogue and to plan for the future of the facilities and for the continued care of the many veterans who call them home.”

The Machias veterans home is attached to Down East Community Hospital. In a written release, MVH says they are in ongoing discussions with parties that might have an interest in their facilities, but “no decisions have been reached at this point.”

Vet populations

In a written response to the governor dated Feb. 14, MVH Board Chairman James Settele told the governor the homes would close, citing a decrease in the number of Maine’s vets “by as much as two-thirds in Aroostook and Washington Counties, according to VA demographic projections from 2010-2040.”

Projections from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for Maine veteran populations do show a downward trend. The VA forecast available today runs from 2018-2048, and for the years 2022-2032 shows a decline of 20 percent statewide and 28 percent in Washington County. Looking out 20 years to 2042, the overall decline in Washington County comes to 48 percent, from 3,067 veterans to 1,608.

In Aroostook County, the 2022-2032 decline comes in at 32 percent, and the 20-year decline at  53 percent. 

The finances

Settele’s letter also said the Caribou and Machias homes are draining resources from MVH’s other four facilities. “And now their combined deficits are $3 million annually and seriously threaten the economic viability of the entire system.”

The most current financial data available for MVH, which as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit files public 990 tax forms, show revenues less expenses (in the business sector known as profits) of roughly $25 million for fiscal year 2019-20, and $19 million for fiscal year 2018-19. 

A more recent financial picture might include expenses for the new Augusta facility. That information has been requested from the MVH communications team.

An earlier tax form for fiscal year 2016 shows net losses of -$61,597, with narrow revenues less expenses of $736,209 the year prior.  

 Rep. Will Tuell (R-E. Machias) said he was disappointed in MVH’s decision to close, but believes it is a financial necessity.

“It is devastating for the families and workers at the facility. At the same time, I don't think they have any other alternative but to close,” said Tuell. “The Machias and Caribou homes have been losing money hand-over-fist for years despite our attempts in the legislature to try to plug that hole.”

In a printed release, MVH says the problems leading to the closures “will not be solved by administrative action or legislation.”

“Our Machias and Caribou Homes are not self-sustaining and have always relied heavily on financial support from the larger Homes,” read the release.

Gardner says he does not believe profitability should even enter into care decisions for veterans.

“We made a promise to these veterans, we’re going to take care of you, except not in Caribou and Machias, because the only way we can do it is if we break even or make money,” said Gardner. “What else do we have to break even on? Do we break even on SNAP? Jail costs? Law enforcement? No, we don’t break even on any of those things. Those are services, those are the things people want to spend money on.”

Former Maine governor and gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage today issued a statement saying Mills should “step up and save” the two homes.

 “Protecting our most vulnerable populations and honoring our servicemen and women must be the absolute number ONE priority of any administration,” wrote LePage.

On the same day news broke of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, a letter to the MVH board from Maine’s congressional delegation Thursday expressed “significant disappointment and deep concern” regarding the closures and asked the MVH board to reconsider its decision. 

“The closure of these homes will have a devastating impact on the 82 veterans and spouses of veterans who reside in these facilities…and have rendered honorable service to our Nation, often during times of war.” The letter was signed by Congressman Jared Golden, Sen. Susans Collins, Sen. Angus King, and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. 

The unofficial news broke on the same day a bill by Maine Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) was referred to the committee on veteran and legal affairs. LD 2001, “An Act To Fund and Support the Veterans Homes in Caribou and Machias and Require Legislative Approval for the Establishment and Closure of Veterans Homes” would send one-time emergency payments to MVH in the sum of $414,020 this fiscal year, and the same amount in 2022-23. It would also require the legislature to approve the closure of any facility managed by the MVH board of trustees.