Key leaders and supporters of the Oregon Veterans’ Home of Lebanon organized a celebration on Sept. 20 for the 10-year anniversary of the skilled nursing facility, originally known as the Edward C. Allworth Veterans Home.
Gratitude was expressed multiple times to the civic leaders and residents of Linn County who made the facility a reality where veterans and their spouses could live out the rest of their years with independence and dignity.
Special exhibits included a slide show, various military uniforms, the “I Am Not Invisible” portrait collection of Oregon women military veterans from ODVA, and the Oregon Memorial Traveling Wall.
The wall, a traveling exhibit created by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 805 in Roseburg and Umpqua Valley, displays the names of Oregonians who lost their lives in the Vietnam and recent U.S. conflicts. Lebanon Vietnam veterans on the wall include SP4 George Arthur Bamford, PSGT Daniel Frenchy de Butts, PFC Larry Allen Gatliff, CMSGT Arden Keith Hassenger, CPL Lonnie Dean Moore, PFC James Russell Salisbury, SGT Robert James Schumacher and SGT Douglas Raymond Ulm.
It quickly became evident that resident veterans Greg Pearce and Joel Satoris are prime targets for friendly banter as speakers took their turns giving the men a few prods at their expense, all in good fun.
During the event, long-term staff, and dedicated volunteers and supporters were recognized in honor of their service to the home and its residents.
Kelly Odegaard, VP of Operations and Veterans’ Services for Westcare Management, and former administrator of the Veterans’ Home, expressed appreciation for all those who made the home a reality, with particular attention to voters.
“You voted a property measure to help pay for the 35% to build this home,” he said. “That doesn’t happen everywhere in the country. It happened in Linn County. You should be very, very proud of yourself.”
The Veterans’ Home in Lebanon is one of the few house models of state veterans homes in the country, housing 154 veterans and spouses in 11 homes each containing 14 private rooms. Odegaard pointed out there are no large medication carts in the hallways or nurse’s stations at this nursing facility, and it is one of the only few skilled nursing facilities that has completely private rooms and bathrooms.
“This is very rare in skilled nursing facilities,” he said. “Private rooms and bathrooms make all the difference in the world by supporting privacy and self-determination in an environment as close to home as we can make it while still meeting very stringent regulations.”
Odegaard was the home’s first administrator, setting the standard for the first six years before moving toward his current position at Westcare.
“It has been a wonderful journey that I can easily declare has been the pinnacle of my career,” he said.
Former President and CEO of Samaritan Health Services Larry Mullins, an instrumental player in wooing the home’s location to Lebanon, declared the facility “a remarkable work by the community” where more than 7,000 veterans have received care in the past 10 years, some of whom hailed from Lebanon.
He recognized the message county residents shouted when they “overwhelmingly” passed a levy for the $30 million facility in 2010, showing that veterans are important and valued by the community.
The former and the current recreation directors, respectively, Megan Eddy and Bess Nichols, added color during the ceremony as they revealed how special – and challenging – the recreation opportunities at the Veterans’ Home is.
“Since the beginning of the Vets Home creation, Kelly Odegaard gave me the go-ahead to never say ‘no’ to our veterans’ greatest hopes for completing their life-giving recreation,” Eddy said. “We had to come up with many decisions on how to bring joy to our veterans. After much research, strip clubs were a no-good, but liquid spirits was a ‘maybe.’”
Nichols explained they focus on life-affirming activities for those who offered their lives for this country. It has been a job, she said, that is not always easy, but is always rewarding.
“We promised each other never to get complacent,” Nichols said. “We weren’t going to be the ones who gave memories of long hallways with bored residents sitting outside their rooms.”
Proving their commitment true, the recreation department has fulfilled resident wish lists via a variety of means (and a stack of waiver forms, Eddy noted), including: providing an ADA-accessible motorcycle joy ride, skydiving for a 94 year old, helicopter rides along the Oregon coast, opportunities to pilot biplanes, Honor Flight trips to Washington DC, travels to see family, horse rides, a crabbing experience at the coast, camping and overnight casino trips.
“These trips have not only tested our creativity in planning skills, but our abilities as CNAs,” Nichols said. “The best part about working with veterans is that they’re not afraid to take a risk, to get hurt, and they are willing to live life to the highest quality.”
Among those who were honored during the celebration was Odegaard, who received a “Guiding Light” award by his predecessor, David Pettijohn.
“When you say ‘Oregon Veterans Home,’ you have to think ‘Mr. Kelly Odegaard,’” Pettijohn said. “His love and passion for the veterans and the work we do is evident. “
He continued on about Odegaard’s advocacy and voice on behalf of the veterans they serve, about his willingness to find solutions in the face of challenges, and his reach into small organizations as well as state legislature.
“The building stands as a hallmark of his service, though through his six years here as the administrator and CEO he set the bar and he set it very high,” Pettijohn said. “Kelly ensured the veterans-centered philosophy and home model was and is a core pillar of our work each day, keeping veterans first in mind.”
As one who forged the way for those who would come after him, Odegaard left a deep impression on the staff, creating a “model of dedicated service and persistent leadership” that they are thankful for, Pettijohn said.
“When he handed me the reigns about two years ago, he told me with a very serious expression, ‘This is my baby. Don’t drop the baby,’” Pettijohn said, ending with a statement directly to Odegaard, “Your baby is safe with us.”
