Related articles:

Ex-Veterans Home chief criticizes his ouster AZ asked to prop up Vets Home Former official defends handling of Arizona vets home News from home

Other articles by Daniel Scarpinato:

Dems' dreams go down in flames Giffords, Grijalva seek $5B for new entry ports Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Obama's inaugural to include AZ flavor Grijalva, Giffords frequently part ways Lawmakers to hand out gold: Obama- event tickets City's vote on gay marriage Giffords' clear win raises question: What's it mean? Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Napolitano is mum on attorney general talk Governor won't talk about the Cabinet Observers don't see McCain riding into sunset

Health Care
SOUTHERN ARIZONA ENDODONTICS I
NSURANCE PROCESSOR Dental
Apache Dental
Porcelain Techs General
Prestige Maintenance USA
Area Manager Technical
Yavapai College
Analyst Banner Programmer Health Care
Freedom Manor
Caregivers Education
Yavapai College
Teachers Retail
TOTAL WINE & MORE
WINE TEAM MEMBERS, CASHIER & STOCK MEMEBERS

PHOENIX — In what was said to be the final session of a legislative probe into conditions at the state veterans home, lawmakers agreed Thursday state funds are needed to support the embattled, mainly self-funded facility.

Committee members also tried to move beyond the partisan jousting that permeated the joint legislative hearings at their onset, ending with a moment of silence for soldiers killed in the Iraq war.

Lawmakers said they support providing state aid to the home to pay for improvements, especially since the facility has experienced a loss of funding because of its troubles. A Senate budget proposal released this week appropriates an additional $3.5 million for the home, in line with what Gov. Janet Napolitano requested last week.

Senate President Tim Bee, a Tucson Republican, said in an interview Thursday that he expects the home to receive a permanent yearly appropriation.

The home has been under scrutiny since February, when inspectors from the Department of Health Services found issues of neglect during a routine visit.

The problems remained mostly private until late March, when a Phoenix newspaper reporter requested the report. It was later revealed that the governor's staffers had known about the problems for six weeks prior but never told her, they said.

Within days, Napolitano and Republican legislators launched separate investigations into the home.

The mood at Thursday's hearing was noticeably different from when the process began, when committee members from both parties said they feared Co-Chairman Jack Harper, R-Surprise, was taking the investigation down a partisan course.

But Harper was mild in his criticisms of the governor's staff Thursday and also said he chose not to call employees from the home to testify as that could interfere with a criminal probe being conducted by Maricopa County Attorney Andy Thomas.

"We're going to let the account of the governor's office stand," Harper said.

Harper said while he is usually an advocate for the private sector running things rather than the public sector, he supports providing state funds to the home because it houses military veterans.

"That's one thing government needs to do and has a responsibility to do," Harper said.

The committee heard from Gen. Gregg Maxon, interim director of the Department of Veteran Services, who said the home is working to create an electronic database of patient records to comply with federal standards and is updating internal policies.

"What we're really trying to do is create this open sense of communication in the home," Maxon said.

The home, which up until now has mostly relied on Medicare payments and money paid by patients, lost revenue after a "bed freeze" was put in place because of the negative report. Out of 200 beds, only about 160 are currently occupied.

A similar facility is planned for Tucson, and Maxon has said the incident has created interest in constructing a veterans home in Prescott.