With the work of Senate President Troy Jackson and the unanimous support of the Legislature and now, a vote from the Maine Veteran’s Homes Board of Trustees, we are keeping the Veterans’ Homes in Caribou and Machias open.
Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.
I’ve talked about my father from time to time. I’ve mentioned he served bravely during World War II in the Pacific Theater. My uncles did as well. My father survived the biggest naval battle of World War II, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. My brother served several tours of duty in Vietnam.
So I deeply appreciate the service and the sacrifice of all Maine veterans and their loved ones. Our state has always contributed more than our share to the armed services during periods of combat in every war — from the 20th Maine in the Civil War, the Revolutionary War before that, and World War I, World War II, and every significant period of combat and conflict since that time. My Administration has been working hard to improve the services for veterans all across this state.
We can never repay our veterans.
So I was very deeply concerned when the Board of Trustees of the Maine Veterans’ Homes told me that it had voted to close the homes in Caribou and Machias because of a projected decrease in the number of veterans in the coming years and, like much of the state and nation, because of a shortage of qualified health care staff.
Well, I recognize the challenges these homes may be confronting, as are many other nursing homes across the country, but the drastic move to close these veterans’ homes would have displaced more than 70 veterans and veterans’ spouses, many widows, and it would have resulted in the loss of jobs for the people who care for them.
These closures would also have significantly reduced the footprint of veterans’ homes across the state, and would have left no facilities Downeast, none north of Bangor, and they would have diminished the long-term care options for veterans in rural Maine generally.
Well, I’m from rural Maine and this gets close to my heart.
The impact the closures of these two homes would have had on our veterans, and their families, and the employees, and the regions that they serve cannot be overstated.
So as soon as I learned of that vote, I wrote immediately to the Board of Trustees of the Maine Veterans’ Homes and I urged them to reconsider their decision. Come talk to us, talk to my department heads, let’s find a solution, let’s solve the problem, I said.
Then I met personally with the Board President and the Director, and I urged them again to postpone any closure for two years so that we can work together and chart another path forward to better serve these veterans in rural areas.
Today I am proud to say that we did just that.
I dedicated $3.5 million in my budget to support a bill sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson to provide a critical financial boost to keep these Homes open.
The Legislature unanimously enacted that legislation and I signed it into law. The Maine Veteran’s Homes Board of Trustees then reconsidered their vote to close the Homes, based in part on this additional support.
This is a much-deserved victory for our veterans, their families, and the staff at the Homes in Caribou and Machias. Together – my Administration, the Legislature, and the Board of Maine Veterans’ Homes — have ensured that our veterans continue to get the care they’ve earned and the care they deserve in the communities they love, near the families that they are close to, in their own hometowns.
Our promise to veterans is that we will stand by them, just as they stood by us in their service to our state and to our nation – and these two homes, keeping them open, is a small step towards fulfilling that promise.
This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.