By Eric Neugeboren
The company managing the Northern Nevada State Veterans Home has not been transparent about its finances and violated certain contract requirements, according to a state audit released Thursday.
The findings were presented during a Thursday meeting of the state’s Executive Branch Audit Committee, a panel of state officials including the governor, treasurer and attorney general. Gov. Joe Lombardo and Treasurer Zach Conine were frustrated over problems revealed in the audit, especially as the veterans home has faced dozens of health violations.
Lombardo called for an annual audit of the veterans home, which has 96 beds for veterans and offers short and long term nursing care, as well as care for veterans with dementia.
Eric Neugeboren – The Northern Nevada Veterans Home in Sparks.
“I’ve been on this board for five years. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s awful,” Conine said.
Officials with Avalon — the company that manages the veterans home — said at Thursday’s meeting they were unaware that the state did not have access to certain financial details, and that they are “more than happy to cooperate” with what the state asks of them.
Avalon has controlled essentially all of the veterans home’s finances since it began operating in 2019. Construction funding for the home was fronted by state dollars under an arrangement reached by then-Gov. Brian Sandoval.
However, financial reports provided to state officials have lacked detailed information, which auditors said violated the contract and prevented the Nevada Department of Veterans Services (NDVS) from independently verifying the home’s financial situation.
In addition, the management company did not provide NDVS with any excess cash until August — four years after the contract went into effect and despite it being a contract requirement. The audit found this was because the management company had erred in calculating how much money they had to keep reserved in the bank.
Avalon also has made regular withdrawals to reimburse itself for certain funds and fees, according to the audit, despite there being no documentation to support the transactions.
Since opening in 2019, the facility has faced scrutiny from state and federal regulators.
In April 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
