Marquette Veteran’s Home Says It Has Already Fixed Problems In Report

Audit raises concerns about control over medications and its background checks of volunteers.

DJ Jacobetti Home for Veterans Marquette

A veteran’s home in Marquette says it’s already fixed problems found by the state Auditor General. After a four month review, the auditor raised concerns about the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans’ control over medications and its background checks of volunteers.

Officials with the home say they’d started fixing the issues before the auditors visited, and the issues had to be raised because they were previously not in compliance.

Leslie Shanlian is the CEO of the Michigan Veteran Health System. She says Jacobetti has a history of good performance.

“In addition, on top of having two successful VA surveys that found no issues that were not compliant with any of the VA standards,” she said. “We are really very pleased with what is going on with Jacobetti right now and with the staff and with the performance metrics that have been put in place.”

But the other veterans home in Michigan has had a history of poor performance. A February audit of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans identified problems, including staffing shortages and ignoring patient complaints. Those concerns are still being addressed.

Shanlian says since she was hired last October, she is working to create a more modern health system at both facilities.

“Make sure that we’re providing the best practices for the veterans that live there,” she said. “And really just make it a place where people can thrive and not just live.”

Author

  • Cheyna Roth is the co-host and creator of WDET's state politics podcast, MichMash. She has been an audio journalist for almost a decade, covering major events like presidential elections, college scandals, the Michigan Legislature and more, appearing on NPR and across Michigan public radio stations. Cheyna is also a senior producer and podcast host for Slate.com, having produced and hosted shows like Political Gabfest, The Waves, and What Next TBD. Also an author, Cheyna has written two true crime books and her written work has appeared in Broadly, Slate, and MLive, among others.