BRISTOL — The administrator of the Rhode Island Veterans Home has been placed on administrative leave, with pay, while the state carries out a review of management issues at the Bristol facility.

David Kirchner, who has been administrator since July 1998 and is paid an annual salary of $93,592, was placed on leave Wednesday, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, which oversees the operation of the nursing home.

Charles Ramos, who has been an assistant administrator at the home for many years, has taken on Kirchner’s duties on an interim basis. Ramos is a licensed nursing home administrator.

The move follows the public release last month from a special legislative commission studying the home of an interim report that criticized some aspects of its management and operation.

The commission, convened by the House Veterans Affairs Committee, found signs of problems in the nursing system, low morale among staff members, antagonism toward residents or their families who complain or challenge established procedures, and abuse of policies concerning the authorized release of information to families.

The 11-page report, dated July 6, included allegations that the president of the home’s Residents Council had been ordered to undergo 35 mental competency evaluations in a seven-year period because of his advocacy for residents’ rights and his frequent disagreements with home administrators.

It also reported that members of at least two families who had frequently disagreed with resident care had, on separate occasions, been threatened with arrest by home administrators.

In its report, the five-member special commission chaired by state mental health advocate H. Reed Cosper cautioned that it had not confirmed the accusations.

The commission is set to write a second interim report before issuing its final report in January.

The commission’s findings prompted an internal review of the home’s administration by state Human Services Director Gary Alexander. That review is yet to be completed, department spokeswoman Tracey Manni said.

“This is an interim action,” she said yesterday, referring to the decision to put Kirchner on administrative leave.

No other administrators in the Veterans Affairs Division or at the 260-bed home have been placed on leave during the review, she said.

The special commission’s preliminary report focused on alleged administrative failings at the home. Commission members have said that the high quality of care at the facility is not in question. Roberta Hawkins, the state’s long-term-care ombudsman, has also said the care at the home is beyond reproach.

akuffner@projo.com