I believe that high-quality care starts with a supported team.”

Bekki Kammeyer, new administrator for the Minnesota Veterans Homes in Hastings

Bekki Kammeyer has been named the new administrator for the Minnesota Veterans Homes in Hastings and the Domiciliary Program based at the Hastings and Minneapolis Veterans Homes, bringing more than two decades of health care leadership experience to the position.
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs announced Kammeyer’s appointment in early September. The move also marks a return to MDVA for Kammeyer, who previously worked with the Domiciliary Program in Hastings and Minneapolis before moving into other health care leadership positions.
Kammeyer most recently served as administrator at the New Brighton Care Center. Along with her administrative experience, she brings a clinical background to the position as both a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and Registered Dietitian.
“Bekki brings a unique blend of experience with both business operations and clinical care,” said Diane Lynch-deCombhs, assistant commissioner for Veterans Healthcare at MDVA. “We’re so happy to have a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and a Registered Dietitian in one person.”
That combination of skills gives Kammeyer experience on both the operational and resident-care sides of health care organizations.
Kammeyer has more than 20 years of experience in health care leadership, including previous work with MDVA. During her earlier time with the department, she served as Nutrition Services Supervisor for the Domiciliary Program in Hastings and Minneapolis and managed clinical nutrition.
Her return to the department places her in a leadership role over programs with which she is already familiar.
During her earlier work with MDVA, Kammeyer was involved in a number of projects aimed at improving both daily operations and the experience of residents. Among the accomplishments she identified from that period was serving on the team that started a gardening program.
She also led an effort to change food service vendors, helped integrate iPads into menu programming and worked to develop a food service operation that residents enjoyed.
While those projects ranged from technology to gardening, they shared a focus on making everyday operations work better for the people living at the facilities.
Kammeyer’s professional background as a registered dietitian also provided her with direct experience in an area that plays a significant role in residents’ daily lives. Her work included managing clinical nutrition, along with the broader responsibilities that came with overseeing nutrition services.
Now, as administrator, her responsibilities move well beyond a single department.
Kammeyer said supporting employees will be an important part of her approach to leadership.
“I believe that high-quality care starts with a supported team,” Kammeyer said. “I enjoy focusing on workplace culture—whether that means listening to staff, finding creative ways to boost employee retention or helping people grow their careers.”
That focus on employees comes alongside the operational experience Kammeyer has gained during more than two decades in health care leadership.
Her appointment places her in charge of both the Minnesota Veterans Home in Hastings and the Domiciliary Program operating from the Hastings and Minneapolis Veterans Homes locations.
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs oversees eight State Veterans Homes as part of its statewide work serving veterans and their families. The department also oversees four State Veterans Cemeteries and provides assistance with a variety of state and federal benefits and services.
Those services include help related to higher education, benefits, burial, claims, outreach and veterans employment.
Within that larger system, the Hastings location and Domiciliary Program have their own day-to-day needs, making Kammeyer’s previous experience with both Hastings and Minneapolis particularly relevant to her new position.
Rather than arriving completely unfamiliar with the organization, Kammeyer returns with previous knowledge of the department, its programs and some of the work involved in serving residents.
Her previous accomplishments at MDVA also show an interest in changes that can be noticed in residents’ everyday routines.
The gardening program was one example. Food service was another.
Changing food service vendors is an administrative decision involving operations, while developing meals residents enjoy is much more personal. Introducing iPads into menu programming brought technology into that process as well.
Together, those projects reflect the combination of operational and clinical experience MDVA highlighted when announcing Kammeyer’s appointment.
Her more recent experience as administrator of the New Brighton Care Center added another level of leadership experience before her return to the state veterans system.
For Kammeyer, however, administration is not simply about programs and procedures. Her comments about workplace culture place employee support alongside resident care.
Listening to staff, retaining employees and creating opportunities for professional growth are all areas she identified as important.
The connection between the two is central to the leadership approach she described. Supporting the people providing care, she said, helps create the foundation for quality care for residents.
That philosophy will now be applied across a position encompassing the Hastings Veterans Home and Domiciliary Program at two locations.
Her background also gives her experience moving between different aspects of health care. As a registered dietitian, she has worked with clinical nutrition. As a nutrition services supervisor, she managed operations and programs. As a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, she has experience overseeing a broader health care operation.
MDVA officials pointed to that range of experience as one of the strengths Kammeyer brings to her new role.
For residents, many of the most noticeable parts of life in a residential setting can be the routine things that happen every day. Meals, activities, interactions with employees and the overall environment all contribute to that experience.
Kammeyer’s earlier work with MDVA touched several of those areas.
The gardening program created another activity for residents, while the food service changes dealt with something every resident encounters daily. The use of iPads for menu programming added a new tool to the operation.
Kammeyer cited the development of a food service operation that made residents happy as one of the accomplishments from her earlier tenure that made her particularly proud.
Her return comes with a much broader leadership role, but her comments indicate that the people within the organization, both residents and employees, will continue to be a priority.
Employee retention is one of the areas Kammeyer specifically mentioned as part of workplace culture. She also emphasized listening to employees and helping staff members develop their careers.
Those priorities fit with her belief that the quality of care residents receive begins with the people providing it.
The appointment also brings Kammeyer back to an organization whose mission extends beyond residential care.
MDVA is the state agency responsible for serving Minnesota veterans and their families. Along with operating Veterans Homes and cemeteries, the department helps eligible veterans and family members access state and federal benefits and provides programs covering several areas of veterans services.
Kammeyer’s part of that larger mission will center on the Veterans Home in Hastings and the Domiciliary Program based in Hastings and Minneapolis.
Her familiarity with those operations means the new administrator is returning to programs where she previously helped make changes rather than beginning without prior experience in the system.
This time, she returns with additional administrative experience from outside MDVA and more than 20 years of health care leadership behind her.
For MDVA, the combination provides an administrator with experience in clinical care, nutrition, business operations, employee management and long-term care administration.
For Kammeyer, the new position offers an opportunity to return to programs where she has already helped launch projects and make operational changes, now from the administrator’s office.
Her stated approach starts with the employees who work directly with residents.
High-quality care, Kammeyer said, begins by making sure those employees have support, opportunities to grow and a workplace where their concerns are heard.
As she begins her new role overseeing the Hastings Veterans Home and the Domiciliary Program in Hastings and Minneapolis, that emphasis on building a supported team will be part of the foundation Kammeyer brings back to MDVA.