Veterans Services Plans Temporary Nursing Pool; Build America Buy America Rule Delays Boise Home Grant

Idaho's Division of Veteran Services told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Friday it is piloting a temporary nursing pool to reduce reliance on costly contract nurses and that federally funded construction for a new Boise veterans home and Lewiston renovation is delayed while the state seeks waivers under the federal Build America Buy America Act.

Budget analyst Frances Lippett reviewed the division's five-year appropriations trends and said the division averaged 82.2% of authorized positions filled and a personnel cost appropriation averaging about $31.1 million. The division asked the committee to approve a net transfer of $1.2 million from operating to personnel to allow the hiring of a pool of 22 temporary, benefited state employees to reduce premium contract staffing. Lippett and Administrator Mark Shampel said contracted nursing staff cost significantly more than state employees and that the pilot could save roughly $600,000 compared with current contracted staffing costs if enough temporary state staff accept assignments.

Administrator Shampel said the division's four state veterans homes (Boise, Lewiston, Post Falls and Pocatello) are near capacity and that skilled-nursing staffing shortages are the primary operational challenge. The division reported a roughly 34–35% turnover rate in direct nursing staff for fiscal 2024, which it contrasted with higher national turnover benchmarks.

Lippett briefed the committee on a large federal state-home grant: the division has been awarded roughly $43.1 million in federal appropriation for rebuilding the Boise home and renovating the Lewiston home, but could not obligate those funds because the projects must comply with the Build America Buy America Act. Lippett and Shampel said the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has not yet issued a waiver that would permit use of non-U.S.-made materials in cases where domestic supply does not exist. Until the waiver is received, construction cannot proceed, they said.

The division requested $120,600 ongoing for IT maintenance and licensing, and $588,400 one-time for items including a shed and equipment at Post Falls and a dump truck for Boise Veterans Cemetery. It also requested $354,700 for replacement items (vehicles, medical equipment, kitchen appliances) and $100,300 for IT hardware replacement. The governor recommended all requested enhancements, Lippett said.

Legislators asked for additional data on contract-nurse premium rates; analysts agreed to provide comparative pay figures. Administrator Shampel said the division conducts regular market analyses to keep pay competitive in each geographic area but remains constrained by national supply of nurses.