Florida Department of Veteran Affairs appoints permanent executive director

Col. Glenn Sutphin, 67, became the permanent executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Army veteran received unanimous approval from the Governor and his cabinet Tuesday morning.

Sutphin has been acting director since the previous director left earlier this year to run for Citrus County Sheriff.

He said his top goal is to build more nursing homes for veterans.

"First of all is to build nursing homes," he said. "Florida is a state in critical need. We are supposed to have four thousand beds. We have eight hundred and ten beds. So my goal is to build those homes as quickly as possible and to man them properly and keep our turnover down."

Florida has $58 million in federal money available to build nursing homes.

The state will share 35 percent of the cost, but Sutphin says one of his first jobs is to try and get a better split with the federal government.