The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) has announced a new partnership between the Minneapolis Veterans Home (MVH) and St. Catherine University. Starting last month, students from the University’s Henrietta Schmoll School of Health will work in the Home’s 24-hour skilled nursing facility to gain hands-on experience and awareness of Veteran’s healthcare issues while learning more about future employment at MVH and caring for Minnesota Veterans.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for both of our organizations to advance our commitment to high-quality healthcare for Minnesota Veterans. The vision of this partnership was not only to provide a valuable learning environment for students, but also to foster connections between students and Veterans, showcase the Home as an employer of choice to our next generation of healthcare workers, and provide increased care for our Veterans,” said Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Shellito. 

Providing high quality healthcare for Minnesota Veterans is a top priority for the state of Minnesota however, it is increasingly difficult to recruit nursing staff to the 24/7 environment of the MVH. This announcement represents the positive results from a careful, deliberate planning process intended to ensure the best strategic direction for the Minnesota Veterans. Public-private partnerships like this one play an increasingly critical role in the future development of Veterans’ healthcare in Minnesota. 

Within this new partnership St. Catherine University faculty and students will also be conducting clinical research studies around known challenges in long-term care for Veterans, starting with the topic of sleep. University faculty and students will present their findings to Home leadership, along with recommendations designed to engage sleep quality for Residents. 

Leadership from MDVA and St. Catherine have been meeting on this partnership since the fall of 2016. The shared vision of this collaboration is to offer quality care for Minnesota Veterans while creating a learning environment with valuable hands-on experience, engaging students in the opportunities within long-term care, developing awareness and competency in working with Veterans, and highlighting the clinical work provided by MDVA staff. 

“After a year of planning and hard work we are excited to have the first students at the Minneapolis Veterans Home this fall. We are grateful for this partnership to create an innovative learning community,” said Dr. Penelope Moyers, St. Catherine University Associate Provost and Dean.

Over the next 12 months, the MDVA-St. Catherine University’s partnership will expand to involve students from other St. Catherine health programs such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant, exercise science, nutrition and public health. Under the direction of a new MDVA Clinical Education Liaison, staff will work with students to share knowledge and practices that prepare students to better serve aging adults, specifically in the areas of skilled nursing, dementia and mental health. 

MDVA provides care to Minnesota Veterans in five facilities throughout the state. The Minneapolis Veterans Home is the largest, and provides long term and skilled nursing services to nearly 300 Veterans and their spouses. Also located on the Minneapolis campus is a domiciliary program that provides board and care level services to over 40 Veterans, and an Adult Day Health Care Program serving over 15 senior Veterans per day. The Minneapolis Veterans Home has been awarded “Best in Class” for its exceptional nursing care and respect and dignity towards Residents and is currently rated as a four star facility through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid. MDVA is considering similar partnerships to address staffing shortages at the other Veterans Homes located in Fergus Falls, Hastings, Luverne and Silver Bay.