Veterans Center seeks to oust man — again

By M. Scott Carter

For the second time in less than a year, officials from the Norman Veterans Center are seeking to evict disabled war veteran Mike Simmons.
Simmons, a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran who suffers from multiple sclerosis, has lived at the center for almost five years.

State Rep Collins, who has fought to keep Simmons at the facility, said he was startled that NVC officials were still trying to evict the veteran. "It’s curious that Mike received his letter telling him he was out on Veterans Awareness Day," Collins said.

Simmons, a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran who suffers from multiple sclerosis, has lived at the center for almost five years. Last October, Simmons was informed by NVC administrator Bob Weeks that he was being "involuntarily discharged" from the facility because the center was unable to meet his medical needs.

Weeks’ letter to Simmons followed several stories in The Transcript where Simmons and other veterans raised concerns about their medical treatment at the center. Since then, Weeks has retired and Simmons has remained at the facility.

Though originally scheduled to be evicted on Thanksgiving Day of 2008, Simmons received several extensions allowing him to remain. Simmons had appealed Weeks’ decision to Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs executive director Martha Spear.

In November — less than a week before he was scheduled to be removed from the center — Spear confirmed Simmons would be allowed to remain at Norman, though she denied Simmons’ appeal. Spear said there was no written documentation noting that Simmons would be allowed to stay, but said he had been given an extension.

"I have not seen anything in writing," she said in November. "But there is a verbal agreement and this agency is going to keep its word."

Yet on May 1 of this year, Simmons received another letter from the veterans center, saying he was being forced out. The center’s new administrator, Thomas Walters, wrote Simmons that he would be discharged June 1.

Like Weeks’ letter, the letter from Walters claimed Simmons was being forced to leave because the center was "unable to meet your needs at this facility." Walters said Simmons would be transferred to Courtyard Gardens, a private nursing center in Wichita Falls, Texas. "The medical team at the Courtyard Gardens has reviewed your medical records and determined they are able to meet your care requirements," Walters wrote.

Simmons said he was being forced out because he upset NVC administrators.

"I’ve lived here for more than four years," he said. "And there hasn’t been an issue until I went public with my concerns." He said he did not authorize the transfer to the Texas nursing home, nor did he authorize the release of his medical information to the facility.

"They did this on their own," Simmons said. "They’re shopping me around. I figure they’ll try and send me there and within 30 to 60 days, the nursing home will ship me to a hospital and abandon me."

Simmons said administrators at the Wichita Falls nursing home were unaware of the issues surrounding his medical care. He said the Texas facility did not have a vehicle that could transport him in his wheelchair.

"They told me they don’t have a vehicle that will hold me in my wheelchair," he said. "So I effectively have no transportation." And, should he need medical attention, Simmons said nursing home administrators would be forced to take him to the nearest Veterans Administration hospital — in Oklahoma City.

"So, they want to send me to Texas to live, but if I need medical treatment, they’re going to send me back to Oklahoma City," he said. "Plus, they don’t have a vehicle that can transport me and my wheelchair. I’m not sure that’s meeting my medical needs."

State Rep. Wallace Collins agreed.

Collins said he contacted Spear about the issue, but neither Spear nor Veterans Affairs Secretary Norman Lamb has spoken with him. "I’ve confronted them, but I still don’t have a response," Collins said.

Since then Simmons has filed a second appeal of his eviction.

In a letter to Spear, Oklahoma City attorney John W. "Billy" Coyle IV appealed Simmons’ eviction and requested documentation specifying which of Simmons’ medical needs the Norman center could not meet.

"We have been advised by Susan Simmons, family representative and advocate for Mike Simmons, that her previous request dated October 28, 2008, for detailed information regarding the exact medical needs that the Norman Veterans Center is unable to meet for Mr. Simmons have been ignored," Coyle’s letter stated.

Coyle said state veterans officials have refused to speak with Simmons or his family.

"Because you refused any direct contact with Mike Simmons or Ms. Simmons to allow them to provide further evidence and important information, you, in effect, denied any opportunity to effectively make the previous appeal on Mr. Simmons’ behalf."

Coyle said exiling Simmons to any nursing home outside of the Oklahoma City area "would isolate him from his few remaining family members causing further unnecessary emotional and psychological pain and hardship."

Coyle’s letter drew a response from the state Attorney General’s office.

In a letter dated May 8, Assistant Attorney General William O’Brien said both Spear and Lamb had gone to the Norman Veterans Center "and made themselves available" to Simmons and his sister, Susan.

"Neither of them (Simmons or his sister) chose to speak with Ms. Spear," O’Brien said. He said that Simmons’ nursing home was "selected by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs for Simmons after the agency could not find a placement for him in another facility in the state of Oklahoma."

However, documents from the VA seem to refute that statement.

In a Nov. 20 letter to Simmons’ daughter Meridith Smith, Madhu Agarwal, the chief of patient care services for the VA, said the agency "is prohibited by law" from intervening in Simmons’ case.

"The VA is prohibited by law from managing or intervening in the management of the facility’s operations," Agarwal wrote. "State veterans homes are owned, operated, managed and financed by the states. The VA provides federal assistance to the states by participating in a percentage of the cost of construction and paying per diem. VA assures Congress that state homes meet VA standards through annual surveys, audits and reconciliation of records."

Coyle said his initial questions about the reasons for Simmons’ discharge remain unanswered.

"I would like to see the reason they are denying him," he said. "I think they need to quit playing games with Mike and take care of the matter. Just because a patient complains, doesn’t mean you can kick them out".

DVA officials and administrators remain close-mouthed about the Simmons case.

"Without a release from Mr. Simmons we can’t comment," spokesman Scott Clymer said. Clymer also refused to confirm that the OVA had received or taken any action on Simmons’ appeal.

Additionally, several telephone calls to Norman Veterans Center administrator Thomas Walters were not returned Wednesday.

Still, despite the controversy surrounding his status at the center, Simmons said he wants to remain.

"This is my home," he said. "I just think that it’s really curious the lengths which some of these people will go to persecute a veteran."

M. Scott Carter 366-3545 [email protected]