By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says he should receive a report soon on what led to widespread deaths from the coronavirus in the state’s veterans’ homes.
The Missouri Veterans Commission recently reported 12 more deaths at the veterans’ home in Cameron, bringing the total death count to more than 20 at that facility. More than 100 Missouri veterans have died at veterans’ homes across the state.
Parson pushed for the commission to hire the Armstrong Teasdale law firm to investigate the problem.
“And I have not received a report on that yet. I think that’s still ongoing on that investigation that we’re looking at,” Parson tells reporters during a stop in St. Joseph. “But, I think the one thing about the veterans’ homes, whether it’s a veterans’ home or a nursing home, anytime that there’s spikes in numbers we’re always concerned about that and we’re going to take a deep dive into that, get the resources we need to see what the problem was, what created that, and how do we make sure, move in, and get those problems fixed.”
The Veterans Commission began restricting access to the homes in early March after the first COVID-19 case was reported. The commission ordered homes to undergo extensive sanitation efforts and the regular testing of veterans and staff.
Parson, a Republican, won election to the position he assumed two years ago after former Gov. Eric Greitens resigned. And, he won it easily, receiving nearly half a million more votes than Democrat Nicole Galloway, the state Auditor.
“I think the election was loud and clear that the people in Missouri trust what the administration is doing right now,” according to Parson. “They want us to continue doing what we’re doing. And I think since day one we’ve tried to take a balanced approach on how we’ve dealt with all situations.”
Parson says he set a tone from the beginning of focusing on the priorities of the state, not politics. Parson led a strong night for Republicans in Missouri, which led to each Republican statewide officeholder winning re-election.
Parson says his focus now is to tackle the challenges facing the state, including how best to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Governor’s a tough job,” Parson says. “You’ve got to do a balancing act every day, how you treat people across the state. And again, we’ve met I don’t know how many challenges since I’ve become governor and we’re in a challenge right now and we’ve just got to get through it.”