Senate panel passes bill to move Talihina veterans center

OKLAHOMA CITY - A Senate panel on Thursday voted for a bill that would allow the relocation of the veterans' center at Talihina.

The Senate Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs voted to send Senate Bill 544 to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The measure passed by a vote of 5-2 with one abstaining.

Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Springer, is the author of the measure and is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs.

"It is the intent of the Oklahoma Legislature that the new location be within 40 miles of the current location and within the city limits of a municipality having at least 8,000 in population," the measure states.

Supporters of the move cited the facility's inability to retain staff as well as infrastructure problems and the age of the facility.

The measure passed despite a plea from Talihina Mayor Don Faulkner who said moving the facility would be a hardship on the families of the clients.

He also said numerous improvements have recently been made to the facility.

The facility has 245 employees, Faulkner said.

After the vote, Faulkner said he was very disappointed, adding that the measure was proceeding too fast through the process without enough information.

Simpson cited a need to look at a long-term plan for the centers, saying they needed to be more of a small-home concept. Currently, the state is warehousing veterans until they die, Simpson said.

The bill is the first step in a long process, Simpson said.

Simpson said the Talihina facility was never designed to be a veterans' center.

Retired Maj. General Myles Deering is Oklahoma Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.

"We have no intent of moving the Talihina center outside of southeastern Oklahoma," Deering said.

He said the agency is looking for locations to move the facility that can sustain an employment base.

"The root issue, the essence of the bill is we can't properly staff a facility in the Talihina area," Simpson said.

Faulkner disagreed that staffing was a significant issue.

Two recent deaths of patients at the facility put the facility in the news. One resident was found with maggots in a wound and later died. Officials are investigating a second death.