Bio: Bergen, Max (Appreciation - 2018)
Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail:
dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Bergen, Zimmerman, Plendl, Zien, Moulton, Hanke, Wilson, Walker
----Source: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (Eau Clare, WI) 2/01/2018
Bergen, Max (Appreciation - 2018)
Interview by Chris Vetter of the Leader-Telegram Staff
Chippewa Falls – At 94, Max Bergen feels blessed to live in the Wisconsin
Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls.
Bergen said his wife, Florence, began experiencing problems with dementia and he
realized he could no longer care for both of them. So, they moved from their Eau
Claire apartment into the 72-bed facility in January 2015.
“I’m so appreciative of this place,” Bergen said. “I’m so grateful they built it
close to me. I was fortunate enough to get in here. It’s the best place I could
possibly be for the rest of my life.”
Although Florence died last July, Max still sees his three sons on a regular
basis, as two live in Chetek and one in Holcombe. He said they definitely
wouldn’t see him that often if he was in a different veteran home elsewhere in
the state.
The Wisconsin Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls opened in February 2013, and the
facility celebrated its five-year anniversary on Thursday.
The 78,000-square-foot facility was built for $20 million, with private,
single-bed rooms for its 72 residents. Each room has a private bathroom and
shower. The building was constructed using a neighborhood model creating four
separate, identical wings with 19 rooms in each wing. The neighborhoodlike
campus provides a variety of social opportunities, as well as comprehensive,
skilled nursing services.
The facility is at 2175 E. Park Ave., next to the National Guard Armory in the
southeast corner of Chippewa Falls.
Dan Zimmerman, secretary for the State Department of Veteran Affairs, said that
while the building opened in 2013, planning to make it a reality began in 2001.
“It’s absolutely incredible what we have up here” Zimmerman told a crowd of
about 150 spectators. “Chippewa Falls (facility) is a model of how communities
are set up in other states.”
Katie Plendl, director of admissions and volunteer services, said that all 72
beds are routinely filled. There is a waiting list of 304 people, including 89
deemed to need care in the near future. The waiting list is estimated at 1.5
years, she said.
There are three veterans’ homes in the state, with the others at King and Union
Grove in the southern part of the state.
The Wisconsin Veterans Home of Chippewa Falls has also been dubbed David A. Zien
Hall in honor of the former state senator, who was known for pushing veteran
issues during his time in the Senate from 1993 to 2006. Zien spoke Thursday
about the need for more of these facilities in the state.
“We need another 72-bed facility,” Zien said. “We’ve got the land; we’ve got the
infrastructure.”
State Sen. Terry Moulton, R-Town of Seymour, praised the work done in caring for
veterans at the home.
“This is an unbelievable home for veterans,” Moulton said. “It would be nice if
it were even larger. It is just an outstanding place for veterans.”
Michael Hanke, a former Chippewa Falls councilman, is director of Klein Hall, a
veteran housing and recovery program located across the street on the Northern
Wisconsin Center grounds.
“Chippewa Falls has become the hub of Chippewa Valley for veterans’ care,” Hanke
said.
The home is managed by Health Dimensions Group, Mark Wilson, the commandant at
the home, said 224 veterans or their spouses have lived there since it opened.
“I can verify the quality of care,” Wilson said. “I see it every day, and I read
about it in the notes of appreciation.”
Wilson said the home has achieved five-star ratings from state and federal
inspectors for 3½ years of its operation.
Bergen said he was impressed with the facility when he toured it and doesn’t
regret moving there.
“The big thing they say about this place is the care, Bergen said. “What makes
it a five-star place is the staff.”
The facility has 140 employees, Plendl said.
The cost to stay at the home has actually dropped since it opened. Daily rates
at the Chippewa Falls home is $322, down from $348 per day in 2013. However, the
U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides $107 per day for each veteran.
The $322 daily cost is a flat rate for members, and includes local phone
services, cable, flat-screen TVs in each room, laundry and medical
transportation. Many privately-operated nursing homes have a cost range for
residents based on resident’s needs, Plendl said.
Eligibility for admission to Chippewa Falls is open to veterans, their spouses
and gold-star parents with skilled nursing needs.
Federal dollars paid for 65 percent of the construction costs, Gov. Scott Walker
previously said.
Bergen joined the Army in 1943 and became a member of the Army Air Corp, where
he served on a bomb squadron and flew over occupied France and Germany. He flew
21 missions but was shot down on the final flight on March 29, 1944.
“We were fortunate. We were survivors,” Bergen said. “We had a superb pilot – he
kept the wheels up, and we just slid on the ground. It was kind of marshy
ground. All 10 of us survived.”
However, within hours the group was captured. He remained a prisoner of war in
Austria 14 months before being freed on May 3,1945. Bergen said all 10 people on
the plane survived the war; he is now the last one of them alive.
(This article was given to us by Erdine Payne of Granton.)
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