EXCLUSIVE: VA, in Rare Partnership With Non-Profit, Opens New Free Hotel for Veterans Undergoing Care

New free hotel opening for veterans  (Dept. of Veterans Affairs photo)

Over the years, the often secretive and even isolationist Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been absurdly reluctant to partner with non-profits on programs that benefit veterans. But that's thankfully starting to change. One organization with which VA has wisely partnered is the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation (PenFed Foundation), which is about to open the nation’s largest free hotel for veterans undergoing medical care. Veterans getting treatment at a VA hospital often have a rough time finding an affordable and comfortable place to stay. Thanks to PenFed they’ll now have a handicapped-accessible hotel with state-of-the-art amenities. And it's free.

Appropriately named the Defenders Lodge, the hotel is expected to serve up to 20,000 veterans annually who travel each year to Palo Alto, Calif., for treatment. PenFed, which built the hotel with the help of a generous donation by Lee and Penny Anderson, will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. Doors officially open for guests in January 2014. 

While PenFed is the primary sponsor of the $17 million lodge, the effort is a rare but welcome public-private partnership with VA in which the foundation is raising $11 million to cover the cost of construction through private donations.

The Defenders Lodge is one of a kind. Sure, there's the Fisher House and the Hometel, but The Fisher House is relatively small, and the Hometel, which the Defenders Lodge is replacing, wasn’t even compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

Christopher Flynn, president and CEO of the PenFed Foundation, tells The Reno Dispatch, "The Defenders Lodge has been a major initiative that we’ve been so proud to be a part of. We’re honored to make this investment in our nation’s veterans. It’s an investment that will help hundreds of thousands of veterans and their caregivers.”

The lodge will provide caregivers and veterans undergoing care at the VA hospital in Palo Alto short-term accommodations for free up to seven nights. With a total gross area of 34,465 square feet, 52 first-class private rooms and 104 beds, the lodge will offer free Wi-Fi, a family room with a fireplace, an upgraded kitchen, an activity room, a laundry room, an open-air atrium, and a library stocked with books.

Partnering with this foundation is an absolute no-brainer for VA. The sometimes secretive agency has never had an open-door policy when it comes to working with private organizations. But in light of the massive problems VA still faces, including the epidemic of suicide and post-traumatic stress (PTSD) among our veterans as well as the enormous backlog of disability claims, that has to change. 

And it is changing, if slowly. Here's hoping we see more public-private partnerships like the Defenders Lodge in the near future. For the sake of our veterans.

BREAKING NEWS: Sanders Bill Would Protect Veterans Benefits in a Government Shutdown

Senate Veterans' Affairs Chair Bernie Sanders

Just hours before the likely shutdown of the government, legislation that many anxious American veterans have been hoping for has arrived - and Congress had better pass it. Tonight, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) introduced legislation to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to make disability compensation and pension payments to veterans in the event of an extended government shutdown.

“We must not let our veterans be counted among the House Republicans’ hostages,” Sanders said this evening.

While many services provided by VA – including healthcare – would be protected even during a shutdown, funding for other vitally important programs for veterans are not protected. These programs include mandatory benefits for low-income and disabled veterans, along with education and vocational rehabilitation benefits.

“Losing these payments could have a devastating impact, especially on severely wounded veterans who are unable to work and depend on the VA checks,” Sanders said.

It is hard for me to imagine anyone voting against this bill, which protects mandatory compensation and pension benefits for veterans and their families, including benefits to the survivors of deceased veterans. It would also enable veterans to continue taking advantage of their post-9/11 GI Bill and other VA educational programs.  

Sanders' bill would allow VA to continue to pay these mandatory benefits to veterans. 

This legislation is similar to H.R. 3210, passed the Senate by unanimous consent earlier today, which mandates that pay will continue for our active-duty military in the event of a shutdown.

I will keep you posted here on the bill's expected march to law. The original cosponsors of Sanders’ bill were Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

To read the bill, click here.