Veterans Home administrator delays retirement amid crisis

BRISTOL — The head of the Rhode Island Veterans Home will delay his departure and stay on to help deal with the coronavirus pandemic, a crisis that has hit nursing homes particularly hard.

Rick Baccus, a retired Army general, had announced his retirement in January, with a final day expected in mid-March. That has been put off "until we get by this crisis,“ a state spokesman said.

“Because of the COVID-19 crisis, Brigadier General Rick Baccus has postponed his plans to retire as Administrator for the Rhode Island Veterans Home,” Executive

Office of Health and Human

Services spokesman David Levesque said in an email. “The state is grateful for General Baccus’ commitment to our veterans and their families during this challenging time. He will continue to work closely with interim administrator Paul Murgo.”

Murgo, the former administrator at Eleanor Slater Hospital, was tapped as the interim administrator in February. Murgo is also working there now, but Baccus is in charge.

Baccus’ retirement came amid questions about the financial management of the facility. Baccus had internal critics, but also supporters.

“I have always supported him,” Donna St. Angelo, chairwoman of the home’s family council, said Tuesday. “He's got a tough job.”

That job has become much more difficult for nursing homes around the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. Older people and people with underlying conditions are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.

So far one worker at the Veterans Home has tested positive for the coronavirus, but no residents.