Iowa Budget Report, Dept of Veterans Affairs Budgets, 2017

(2016) Iowa Budget Report, Dept of Veterans Affairs Budgets, 2017. Veterans Affairs, Iowa Commission of

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Abstract

Veteran Affairs is the department in state government that provides services to veterans and works to increase the public's awareness of veteran's issues. These services encompass two divisions (advocacy services and long-term health care). One division is the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs administration office located at Camp Dodge. It provides services and support to veterans including education regarding their entitlements under state and federal laws and enhancing their awareness of outreach programs available to them. This division conducts two service schools of instruction each year for the Commissioners and County Directors of Veterans Affairs to update them on benefits for veterans. It also files all reports of separation (Form DD 214), maintains 4 million records of Iowa veterans from the past four wars, maintains a database of veterans in nursing homes and determines if they have applied for federal Veteran's benefits, and processes and maintains all registration documents for Veterans buried in Iowa. A state aid program for War Orphans paid to a school of higher learning is provided. The second division located in Marshalltown is the Iowa Veterans Home. It delivers long-term health care services for eligible veterans and/or their spouses/widows. The Iowa Veterans Home has 575 operating beds comprised of three levels of care (nursing, domiciliary and infirmary) and offers 24 hour medical coverage. A full range of services is available including: Food and Nutrition Services; Pharmacy; Recreation Therapy; Transportation to medical appointments at the V.A. Hospitals and Clinics; Contract Services (dentist; optometrist; dermatologist); Speech Therapy; Audiology; Physical Therapy; Occupational Therapy; Wheelchair Services; Activity Centers (ceramics, woodworking, arts and crafts, and library); Social Work Services; Pastoral Care; Psychology Services; and Psychiatry Services.