OGDEN -- Late in 2009, Utah veteran officials said they had a two-year waiting list for the new George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Nursing Home. When the home opened in late January, they threw wide the doors and waited for the flood.
And waited. And waited.
Two veterans came in the first day. A third came in on the second.
After that, "it got pretty dead there," said administrator Kelly Snowball.
He started running newspaper ads. Now the phone's ringing again.
As of Wednesday the home had 23 patients, but what happened to the waiting list?
It "wasn't as big as expected," Snowball admitted.
Turns out, it wasn't a waiting list at all. What the Utah Office of Veterans Affairs had been keeping was a contact list, people who'd called up and asked. But that was it.
So the home, with slightly fewer than 100 empty beds, is marketing itself.
Snowball and his staff are visiting hospitals, senior centers and other locations and getting the word out. New patients are starting to come in, often from other nursing homes because this one is less expensive.
It's just as well things are slow. The home still hasn't passed its final inspection by the Veterans Administration.
A VA team will come to Ogden on March 16 to do a multiday "recognition survey," making sure the home is set up and running properly, with all its accounts and facilities in order.
That's critical. Snowball said if the home doesn't pass, the VA doesn't reimburse the cost of caring for its patients, "and we have to eat it" until the home does pass.
Avalon Health Care Inc., a private corporation, runs the home on a contract with the state of Utah.
It also runs the veterans nursing home in Salt Lake City.
The home is set up to offer long- and short-term nursing care to veterans.
Like any nursing home, Snowball said, it offers post-hospital care and is a Medicare provider.
Veterans pay about half of their care costs, $2,291 a month, with the VA paying the rest.
If a veteran's spouse moves into the home with them, they pay another $4,582 a month, either out of pocket or from their own insurance provider.
Veterans who are at least 70 percent disabled for service-related illness or injury will be paid 100 percent by the VA, Snowball said.
The home won't be taking in any of those veterans until after the recognition survey is passed.
Same goes for veterans who need the secure wing for patients with dementia, Alzheimer's disease or other problems that require they be kept in a secure environment.
Snowball said an estimated 20 more patients for that wing are expected after the recognition is passed.
Snowball said $2,291 a month for a veteran's share sounds like a lot.
"What families ask is, what's the benefit? Look at what the costs are at a nursing home anywhere else."
In Weber County, he said, those costs can be about $6,000 a month.
The low patient count also helps because he's still hiring staff.
The home has about 30 employees and will have 130 when it is fully staffed.
In addition to visiting senior centers and hospitals, Snowball said, the home is holding an applications workshop every Monday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to help applicants find out what the requirements are and fill out application paperwork.
Families can call (801) 334-4300 for more information, or visit the home at 1102 N. 1200 West, Ogden.
Snowball said he'll keep running ads.
"We need to keep the information out in the community so veterans know we're here," he said.
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