Overtime hours for nursing staff at the state’s largest veterans home have nearly doubled in recent years, according to a new audit of the Veterans Home at King.
According to the report from the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, nursing staff at King saw a nearly 80 percent increase in their overtime hours between 2013 and 2016.
The audit is part of an ongoing evaluation of the Veterans Home at King, which has faced criticism for reports of poor living conditions and care for its roughly 685 residents.
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The report pinned the sharp increase in overtime to staffing shortages. King was authorized to hire 80 new nurses in 2013. As of June 2016, about half of those jobs were unfilled.
In his official response to the audit, state Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Daniel Zimmerman said he intends to eliminate all forced overtime at King and reduce voluntary overtime to “acceptable, affordable” levels.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated with original reporting from WPR at 3:27 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25, 2017.
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