Missouri Veterans Commission

Low pay rates exacerbated by the pandemic have left the facilities around the state short-staffed to the point they have empty beds while still having waiting lists.

Currently $20 million of the state’s annual $400 million in gaming revenue goes toward veterans. A state lawmaker wants voters to increase that share.

In his work leading the Missouri Veterans Commission, Tim Noonan serves in a volunteer capacity. But in the year 2020, the job has proved to be a particularly intense one — and in recent weeks it’s been filled with tragedy. The seven long-term care facilities the commission oversees suffered "a prolonged and rapidly escalating outbreak of COVID-19" beginning in September, according to a recent summary of an independent investigation.