Veterans Village did not appeal state license revocation

Veterans Village of San Diego will not contest the decision of the Department of Health Care Services to revoke its license for treating substance abuse disorders.

The facility will still provide a variety of services to veterans funded through the San Diego Veterans Affairs. But losing the license means that VVSD can no longer provide substance abuse services to vets and non-vets.

The state on Sept. 5 issued a notice to Veterans Village that it intended to revoke its license, citing “serious concerns about client safety” at the Pacific Highway campus.

The state issued a temporary suspension that took effect on Sept. 9. That allowed San Diego County, which had a contract with VVSD to treat Drug Medi-Cal patients, to find new placements and services for the 74 people it had placed there. It also allowed the VA to find alternatives for the 48 vets staying at the campus at the time.

Under state law, VVSD had 15 days to file a notice that it would challenge the appeal. That would normally trigger a proceeding in the state administrative law courts to determine if the license should be revoked or not.

But a DCHS spokesperson said Friday that the department did not receive any appeal notice from VVSD by the deadline of Sept. 20. 

“Since VVSD did not appeal the licensing actions there are no additional hearings or processes,” DCHS spokesperson Tessa Outhyse wrote in an email.

In a statement at the time of the license revocation, VVSD said it was “deeply concerned by the State’s swift and severe decision” and indicated it came as a surprise. 

VVSD President and CEO Akilah Templeton declined to explain why the organization did not appeal the license revocation when contacted by inewsource Monday.

The accusation to revoke the license filed by the state was the latest development in a turbulent 2 ½-year period for VVSD, which was founded in the early 1980s and achieved national renown for its programs helping veterans. 

Seven VVSD clients have died since 2022. In early 2023 the state placed the organization’s license on an 18-month probation as a way to resolve a number of violations found there in a series of inspections in 2022. 

That probation was set to expire on Sept. 10. The accusation cited an inspection conducted in April that found more violations, dealing with patient medication oversight, drug screenings, and policies allowing clients passes to go off-site.

Some of the violations were repeats and had been cited in the probation settlement. 

VVSD began accepting Drug Medi-Cal patients in 2018 under a contract with the county that this year paid out $6.5 million through August. 

Tim McClain, spokesperson for the county Health and Human Services Agency, said that the contract was extended through Sept. 9, the day of the suspension, and is now no longer in effect.

In a series of stories beginning in 2022 inewsource has reported on troubles at VVSD, including the multiple deaths as well as staff turnover, poor conditions, and other issues. 

In the wake of the stories the county temporarily stopped sending new clients to VVSD, but resumed doing so in early 2023. The county has also issued corrective action notices, which detail failure to comply with one or more terms of the contract, to VVSD. The organization filed plans to correct the problems, which the county approved. 

VVSD has strongly objected to inewsource reporting, contending it was biased, sensationalized and inaccurate, and ignored the work the group does helping thousands of veterans and non-veterans through its various programs. 

The news organization has stood behind its reporting and no corrections or retractions have been made.