95°F
weather icon Clear

Former Vets Home admin returns to NDVS after previous $750,000 Legionnaires’ settlement

As a very local newspaper, the Boulder City Review does not usually cover the machinations of government at the state level. But in this case, there are multiple BC connections.

It’s been a tumultuous week at the Nevada Department of Veterans Services, the agency which oversees both the Southern Nevada Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery and the Nevada State Veterans’ Home, both located in Boulder City.

The headline news as that Fred Wagar, the director of NDVS, appears to have been fired by Gov. Joe Lombardo. While inquiries to the governor’s office about Wagar’s status and details about his separation had not been replied to by press time, reporting by other newspapers, including the Reno Gazette-Journal, indicates that he was dismissed. Lombardo’s outgoing chief of staff, Ben Kieckhefer, is reported to have said that Wagar’s removal was a “personnel decision.”

The news came out only via an email sent to NDVS employees by NDVS Communications Director Terri Hendry. The email reads: “Dear Team - Following a change in leadership this afternoon, Governor Lombardo has now designated Lisa Maciel as Acting Director of the Nevada Department of Veterans Services. A permanent director will be announced in the coming weeks.”

Maciel was named as deputy director of benefits less than three months ago, a position which put her in charge of the veterans’ cemetery. Her appointment as interim director took effect on Friday of last week.

Meanwhile, three days earlier, Hendry sent a press release saying that a veteran of the veterans’ home was returning to NDVS, this time in the role of deputy director of health care services, a position that places this person in charge of both of the veterans’ homes in Nevada. The person in question here is Mark McBride, who served as the administrator of the veterans’ home in Boulder City in 2015.

The release highlights McBride’s 21 years of experience in health care, which includes 11 years as an administrator in skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities.

In a BCR story dated Oct. 23, 2015, McBride was quoted as saying, “While I have enjoyed leading the Nevada State Veterans’ Home this past year, it was my decision to resign my appointed position and return to the private sector.”

In a Jan. 2, 2016 story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, it was first revealed that the family of Charles Demos had filed a lawsuit, which specifically named McBride, over Demos’ death, which occurred while he was a resident at the veterans’ home.

According to the Review-Journal story, “And although 2015 found him up in years at age 88, he deserved a better fate than his “untimely and preventable death” in April as a result of contracting Legionnaires’ Disease at the Nevada State Veterans’ Home in Boulder City. Charles Demos Sr. was a fighter in life, and his surviving son continues to fight in his name.”

That story continues, “Through attorney Martin Little, a complaint and class action lawsuit was filed in District Court in December on behalf of the Demos estate and family that accuses Nevada Department of Veterans Services Administrator Mark McBride of failing to ‘implement a proper program for the prevention, detection, or control of legionella bacteria and the prevention of Legionnaires’ Disease.’”

In 2017, the state paid out a settlement of $750,000 to settle the family’s legal action.

MOST READ
LISTEN TO THE TOP FIVE HERE
THE LATEST
Trio looks to bring new grocery store to town

If one were to ask 25 Boulder City residents what the town is missing, you’d probably get a few different answers like affordable housing or a movie theater. But the overwhelming answer would likely be the same – a second grocery store.

City awards $1.6M for pool design

Back in March 2024, Councilwoman Sherri Jorgensen said, “I can’t even imagine what it would cost in 2028.”

City transfers bond capacity

Kevin Hickey, of the Nevada Rural Housing Authority, has been making pretty much the same presentation to the council annually thanking the city for transferring nearly $1 million in bond capacity to the group he represents.

Council confusion: The leash law saga continues

Three statements — notably, none of them from members of the city council — best illustrated the difficulties residents (both dog-loving and not) have had for at least four years when it comes to the issue of off-leash dogs in public parks.

Breeding in BC? Probably not

Unlike the discussion later in the meeting Tuesday night in which the city council appeared determined to make sure no one was angry at them about the issue of off-leash dogs, they directed staff to take very strong action on the issue of pet breeding.

Lifejacket donations aim to save lives

Greg Bell’s memory lives on by way of a generous donation that may saves lives.

Huge crowd turns out to honor Patton

It was brought up during Saturday’s unveiling of the Shane Patton Memorial Monument as to why Shane’s statue stands 11 feet tall.