For the eighth year in a row, four Minnesota Veterans Homes have received the Customer Experience Award from Activated Insights in the Skilled Nursing Facility category. The Minnesota Veterans Homes’ four skilled nursing facilities receiving this recognition include Fergus Falls, Luverne, Minneapolis and Silver Bay. The three newest Homes – Bemidji, Montevideo and Preston – also received the award in their very first year of eligibility. Congratulations to all the Veterans Homes!

Qualifying for the Customer Experience Award signifies that the Minnesota Veterans Homes have consistently ranked within the top 15% of care providers across the nation over the past 12 months. Throughout the year 2025, the Minnesota Veterans Homes engaged Residents and their families in monthly telephone interviews. These conversations included open-ended questions and ratings across various categories. The Veterans Homes use this feedback to drive continuous improvement in the care we provide.

Activated Insights enables long-term and post-acute care providers to make the most of every interaction—for employees, clients and beyond—through better understanding and delivery of improved experiences. The Customer Experience Awards are given to providers who excel in providing exceptional customer experiences for Residents.

Each month, Activated Insights conducts thousands of phone-based satisfaction interviews with Residents and their families, seeking their feedback on 12 to 16 service categories including:

The results are compared to others in the long-term care industry and the Minnesota Veterans Homes have been identified as “best in class.”

“The Activated Insights survey results represent the overall quality our Homes provide to our Residents by our staff,” said Eric Meittunen, Deputy Commissioner - Veterans Healthcare. “We are very proud of the level of care that is delivered and appreciate the work of all employees to provide this experience to Residents and families.”

Diane Lynch-deCombhs, Assistant Commissioner - Veterans Healthcare, joined the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs in November, and remarked: “What stands out most is the strength of our team. MDVA’s depth of knowledge, collaborative spirit and commitment across divisions are truly impressive. There is a clear, shared focus on finding better ways to serve Veterans with compassion, integrity and respect.”

Note: Our Domiciliary Program, located at the Hastings Veterans Home and in Building 16 on the Minneapolis Veterans Home campus, is not eligible to participate in this program as DOMS is a board and care program, not a skilled nursing care facility.