PA HB2086

Establishes the State Veterans' Home Board as an autonomous 11-member entity within the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to operate Pennsylvania's state veterans' homes, with members including the Adjutant General, Secretaries of Health and Human Services, nursing home administrators, health care professionals, and three veterans' home residents appointed by the Governor for four-year terms

Requires each state veterans' home to employ two infection control nurses and establishes minimum direct care hour requirements for nursing care residents, with the board required to submit biannual reports to the Governor and legislature on compliance, staffing levels, complaints, and expenditures

Creates formal resident rights protections including access to complaint processes without retaliation, privacy rights against unreasonable searches of person and property with written notice required before room searches, and 30-day advance written notice before transfers or discharges except in emergencies

Establishes eligibility criteria for admission requiring applicants to be eligible veterans, their spouses, or surviving spouses who are Pennsylvania residents, with mental health conditions alone prohibited as grounds for denial if treatment needs can be met at or near the facility

Reconstitutes local advisory councils at each veterans' home with 15 members (10 local veterans, 3 nominated by residents, and one legislator each from House and Senate) who meet quarterly to advise on resident care and nominate inductees for the veterans' home hall of fame