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91_HJ0003
LRB9101524PTpk
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois wishes to address the
3 increasing needs of the aging and disabled who are members of
4 the Illinois veterans community and to remedy the dire
5 shortage of beds at State Veterans Homes; and
6 WHEREAS, The Department of Veterans' Affairs reported
7 that the State has an immediate need for 330 additional
8 nursing care beds for State Veterans Homes, that increasing
9 capacity by 600 beds would serve only 12% of wartime veterans
10 who need skilled care, and that increasing the capacity of
11 the Illinois Veterans Home at LaSalle by 80 beds would permit
12 the Veterans Home to properly serve 200 veterans requiring
13 nursing care; and
14 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois pays only an estimated 39%
15 of the care costs at State Veterans Homes while paying almost
16 47% of the care costs for Medicaid recipients at other
17 nursing homes, and increasing veterans home capacity would be
18 cost effective for the State subsidy of long term care; and
19 WHEREAS, Ninety percent of the Illinois veterans who are
20 eligible for care by a State veterans home reside within 100
21 miles of the Illinois Veterans Home at LaSalle; the waiting
22 list for a bed at the LaSalle Veterans Home contains the
23 names of more than 100 eligible veterans; and the lengthy
24 list requires those veterans to wait more than one year to
25 gain their desired admission; and
26 WHEREAS, If the General Assembly provides the necessary
27 funds to increase the capacity of the LaSalle Veterans Home,
28 then the State would be eligible for federal reimbursement of
29 up to 65% of the construction costs through federal grants
30 and the efforts of the Illinois congressional delegation;
31 therefore, be it
-2- LRB9101524PTpk
1 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
3 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, That all concerned make every
4 effort to obtain State and federal funds so that the
5 Department of Veterans' Affairs may increase by at least 80
6 beds the capacity of the Illinois Veterans Home at LaSalle to
7 better serve the north central region of Illinois and to
8 accommodate the increasing number of Illinois veterans
9 eligible for care; and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
11 delivered to the Illinois congressional delegation, the
12 Governor, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and the
13 Illinois Veterans Home at LaSalle.