- We're now joined by Vincent Solomeno, Deputy Commissioner of veteran affairs, New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran Affairs.

Good to see you, Vincent.

- Likewise, Steve, thanks for having me on.

- Great, we'll put up the website for the department, and the work that you and your colleagues are doing.

Tell us exactly what that work is please.

- So, our job at the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is to assist over 300,000 Garden State heroes and their families day in and day out.

In the last 12 months, we've had over 70,000 contacts with our veterans, our service members, and their families.

So, we help them get access to programs, services, and we provide some of those programs and services, and we're honored to do so.

- Talk to us, Deputy Commissioner Solomeno, about the most pressing issues our veterans in New Jersey and the nation are facing please.

- Well, I mentioned the services and the programs that our veterans have earned through their own service in the armed forces.

I see our mission.

And the greatest challenge for our Garden State veterans is connecting them with federal and state benefits.

In this year's state budget, which was recently passed, the governor and the legislature came together to increase the number of state of New Jersey veteran service offices from 14 regional hubs to one in each of our 21 counties.

And we view that as important, not just to get resources and programs to our vets and their families, but also as a great to bring back for the Garden State economy.

So, I see that as job one for the department.

But top of mind always is veterans mental health and resiliency.

And what we are doing, not just as a state government, but as a community to ensure that those folks are properly supported, and get the help that they need if they're in crisis.

- To what degree do you see the global pandemic that our country faced?

We're taping this toward the end of July 2023, 3 years plus well into it.

To what degree do you believe the pandemic exacerbated the mental health challenges of our veterans?

- Well, I think it certainly did.

When you think about the populations that we serve, especially the veterans of Korea, Vietnam, we've got World War II heroes still with us.

And as we saw across older populations in general, this became a real isolation challenge.

But I think what the COVID-19 pandemic also did was help us to begin a conversation about eliminating the stigma of asking for help.

And that's why I'm honored to serve as a chair of the Governor's Challenge to prevent suicide among veterans, service members, and their families.

So, right now we're introducing evidence-based best practices to try and take what we learned during the pandemic, and get folks connected to the treatment and the help that they need and they deserve.

- How did you come into this position, your background previously?

- So, I'm a US Army veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, lifelong new Jerseyan.

I've served in the Army.

I continue my service in the National Guard as a major.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was an operations officer.

I was out there working with my fellow brothers and sisters, soldiers and airmen to help the people of the Garden State.

And when I was asked to join this department and serve in this position, I tell you, Steve, it is the honor of a lifetime.

- I hope it never sounds like a cliche, but Deputy Commissioner Solomeno, thank you for your service.

- Thank you for caring.

And for those veterans who are watching who maybe didn't hear this, welcome home.

- I've been thinking about this for a while.

And I'm not really sure how to approach it, but I wanna put it out there, and have a conversation.

So, we've had many conversations about COVID and the governor's policies, New Jersey policies as it relates to nursing homes and the... You could look at previous interviews we've done with the governor.

Our team will put up the website.

You could see how the governor responded to my questions in that conversation.

But Deputy Commissioner Solomeno, when it comes to veteran homes, what was the problem / issue in our veterans' homes as it relates to COVID?

- Well, I came into my position in January of this year.

Prior to that, I did work in veteran services, but I can say while I was in active duty as a National Guard officer, I was the first soldier who set foot in the Menlo Park Veterans Memorial home.

So, I'm intimately aware with the pandemic's challenges.

And I'm also aware of the thousands of hours of unsung heroes, and the work that they've done in our homes, our frontline caregivers who right now today are doing, I would say, an exceptional job caring for our veterans, our veteran spouses, and our gold star families.

To take a step back, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs operates the three long-term care facilities at Paramus, Menlo Park, and Vineland.

Our objective is constant improvement, and I think we've seen that borne out.

So, as we look to the future in improving processes and ensuring our people are better trained, the independent centers for Medicare and Medicaid services have rated Paramus just recently as a five star, we can't get more than that, a five star facility in terms of care.

And our facilities at Menlo Park and Vineland are making progress where each month since January, they've been rated five stars in quality measures.

So, our work isn't done.

I mean, this is something that we have to do each day to ensure that our veterans get the best care that they can.

But I do believe the pandemic created a crisis in long-term care facilities, not just within-- - What went wrong?

I'm sorry for interrupting Deputy Commissioner, what went wrong that needs to be improved?

Can we be more specific?

- Well, what went wrong that needs to be improved?

Steve... - Were veterans in those veteran homes that are operated by the state of New Jersey were those veterans treated as they should have been particularly during the early stages of COVID?

- I can speak to where we are right now.

And I can tell you that those veterans are receiving the best possible care that we can.

I can tell you that I was in there just last week, paying a visit in Menlo Park.

And I asked the guys in the room, I said, "Who thinks that this is a great place to live?"

And all of them raised their hands.

Obviously, the pandemic indicated that there was areas where we can improve.

And I'm here proudly today to say that we are improving.

And I'm proud of the work that our folks are doing on the ground each day.

- Deputy Commissioner, I'm sorry for pressing.

Well, I'm not sorry, it's my job.

Could you name one specific improvement?

- Oh, absolutely.

So, we have brought in infection control preventionists within the facilities who are leading teams to ensure that we identify future infectious disease outbreaks, not just COVID-19, but to the future.

We are also in the process of embarking upon the most significant capital improvement for a veterans nursing home, I would argue in the United States, so that our facilities at Paramus and Menlo Park are moving from dual occupancy rooms, double beds to single occupancy, which will greatly enhance our ability to be able to contain a future outbreak, and also to provide a better quality of life for those who call our facilities home.

- 30 seconds left.

Deputy Commissioner Solomeno, the final message to all the veterans and their families watching right now.

Please go ahead.

- Thank you for your service.

And as I indicated earlier, welcome home, if you didn't hear that when you came home, Please know that there are plenty of folks each day who are working to ensure that you receive access to the programs and services that you're entitled to.

And if you think that we can do better, please reach out to us on social media.

Our door is always open, because ultimately our department, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is here to serve the folks who've served this great state in this great country.

- Deputy Commissioner of Veteran Affairs, New Jersey Department of Military Veteran Affairs, Vincent Solomeno, again, thank you for your service, and thank you for being with us.

I promise you, we on our end have a lot more work to do in covering, understanding, analyzing, talking about the challenges our veterans are facing.

Thank you, Deputy Commissioner.

- Thank you, Steve.

- I'm Steve Adubato, and that's the Deputy Commissioner.

We thank all of them for their service, and he said it right, welcome home.

See you next time.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by New Jersey Institute of Technology.

NJ Best, Delta Dental of New Jersey.

PSE&G, The North Ward Center.

The Fidelco Group.

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

Wells Fargo.

And by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Promotional support provided by NJ.Com.

And by Insider NJ.

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