Report from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

1. This worker along with Meri Robinson, RN and Kim Lessard, RD inspected Robin Hill Farm, West Deering, NH on March 26, 2003. Joseph Stillings & Doris Murray, representing Fire & Safety, will inspect at another time. The team met with the Administrator, Wendy Carney, RN along with the respective Program Managers: Lois Normandin (Our Town), Suzanne Brisette, LPN (Hillsborough & Supported Residential Program), Diane Duvernay (Blue House) and Sheryl Roy (White House)

2. Robin Hill Farm was first established in 1983 to deal with the post acute rehabilitation of persons with brain injury. Robin Hill Farm is licensed by the State of New Hampshire as a residential Care and Rehabilitation Center. When the VA team first inspected the facility in August of 1992 there were 15 patients/residents in the program. They now have 27 residents spread over five distinct programs. The breakdown is as follows: White House (7), Blue House (7), Supported Residential Program (4), Our Town (5) and Hillsborough (4). White House, Blue House and SRP are located on campus while the "Our Town" Program is in Peterborough, NH. All of these programs are staffed around the clock seven days per week. They have between 85-90 staff members. At present there are six veteran residents. Three are in the "Our Town" Program while the others are on campus.

3. Robin Hill Farm provides a variety of activities throughout the day for their clients. Life and social skills continue to be an important part of their daily therapeutic routine. These include banking, shopping and laundry in the nearby community of Hillsborough. Residents are also assigned various in-house chores. While their program has expanded over the years, the emphasis at Robin Hill continues to be one of family living away from the more traditional institutional approach. In what's know as the "White House" one gets the feel of a "country inn".

4. Patients are admitted to Robin Hill Farm only after acute rehabilitation (of) brain injury has been completed. Individuals are assessed and a plan of care is formulated which include long and short term goals. Monthly assessments are completed. Goals may change from time to time depending on the patient's progress. We receive reports on a monthly basis on veterans. Occupational, vocational, speech and physical therapies are not provided on a regular basis, although there are consultants who review the status of each patient monthly. These services are provided to some residents in the private sector.

5. The six veterans in residence are [names deleted to protect residence's privacy] ..............., ............... and ............... (12/2/96), ............... (12/1/85), ............... (5/17/99) and ............... (8/4/90). The dates in parenthesis represent when the veteran was admitted. ............... and ............... are being subsidized by the Manchester VA Medical Center. All of these veterans receive their medical care at the Manchester VAMC. In addition to life and social skills mentioned earlier, there are a variety of recreational activities provided. These include exercise and gym time, swimming at Crotchet Mountain, Horse Power, snow tubing, trips to NH State Parks, poetry and ceramics. The family also purchased a restaurant in Peterborough where a number of the residents have worked (this was sold in January of this year) and continue to do so. Other residents have part-time jobs in the community.

6. While the first comprehensive VA inspection by a regional team was completed in August of 1992, an earlier local inspection was done on July 19, 1989. In that report, I stated the following "Staff at Robin Hill Farm appear to be warm, caring and enthusiastic in their approach. The program seems to be filled with activity. This kind of living experience should allow clients to maximize their potential. I was most impressed and heartedly recommend the program." While the program has obviously expanded since then, my impression and observations remain the same. This is a unique program and one that is much needed. Our veterans appear to be well cared for and overall have made significant gains over the years.

[signed]

FRANK WILNER, MSW