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More work needs to be done to support Massachusetts veterans, state secretary says

By
Jon Keller
Jon Keller
Jon Keller is the political analyst for WBZ-TV News. His "Keller @ Large" reports on a wide range of topics are regularly featured during WBZ News at 5 and 6 p.m.
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Jon Keller

/ CBS Boston

Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans' Services Jon Santiago said on this Memorial Day, more needs to be done for veterans in the state, especially with ensuring there's enough staff to support and care for them.

Memorial Day is much more than a day off and the start of the summer season. For 155 years, it has been a day reserved for honoring the sacrifices made by military personnel who die while serving our country.   

Santiago, who is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, was asked if he thinks the public has forgotten the true meaning of Memorial Day.

"I think the values that Memorial Day represents [are] still very much alive in people all across the Commonwealth, all across this country. Now whether there is a diminished patriotism when it comes to certain events, perhaps, but for Memorial Day, what this is about, to me and to so many other folks that I interact with on a daily basis, it's about reflection and gratitude and really acknowledging the sacrifice borne by generations of Americans for 250-plus years that have allowed us to be who we are, to share these values and to have the freedoms that govern how we live in society today. For me, it's a moment of gratitude. It's really a sacred American day," said Santiago.

Fixing veterans homes after COVID deaths

That said, Santiago turned to the challenges facing many of the state's 200,000-plus veterans. "Whether it's PTSD, substance use, a whole host of issues, but there are also generations of veterans who have been here for decades who are still looking for care. Think about our Vietnam veterans, our Korean War veterans who are getting up there in age that need that support," he said.

During the height of the COVID pandemic, dozens of veterans died in the state's two Soldiers Homes due to mismanagement, and Santiago says fixing those facilities in Chelsea and Holyoke has been a top priority. The institutions were "using paper medical charts, paper scheduling, not licensed to be nursing homes, ran by people not licensed to run nursing homes with dilapidated infrastructure. Over the course of two years, we've completely turned that around, and I can show you that with outcomes, [people] telling us that care is better, quality is better, and folks are excited about being there."

Concerns about VA staffing

It's been a couple of months since we learned that the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs planned to cut 17% of the workforce at the VA, 83,000 jobs nationally. How is what has happened since affecting services here in our state?

"This is increasingly concerning," says Sec. Santiago. "We're talking about a 15% decrease in staff supporting veterans, whether that's at the VA or some of the other centers that the VA utilizes. We need that support of staff to do the work that we need to do, and so we're already seeing cuts to services across not just the Commonwealth, but across the country.... It raises significant concerns on whether veterans will be able to access their care."

The VA said the cuts have not happened yet, and that their end goal is to "increase productivity, eliminate waste and bureaucracy."

"We're going to maintain VA's mission-essential jobs like doctors, nurses, and claims processors, while phasing out non-mission-essential roles like DEI officers. The savings we achieve will be redirected to Veteran health care and benefits," press secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Pete Kasperowicz said in a statement to WBZ-TV.

Santiago also discussed the potential impact of Medicaid cuts included in the House tax bill passed last week, and steps he's been taking to improve services for female veterans. You can watch the entire interview here, and please join us every Sunday morning at 8:30am for more interviews with newsmakers in public policy on the weekend edition of "Keller At Large."

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