Introduction:
With steady growth in the number of aging veterans in the US, the Department of Veterans Affairs further notes this increasingly long-term need for care. Nursing homes would have traditionally been the residence of choice for veterans who required assistance, but the VA is now also enhancing home care options to prioritize veterans’ desires for, above all else, graceful, independent living outside of the institutional walls of a nursing home.
This article discusses the VA’s new home care option, which is growing more for veterans, and how it can benefit them:
Why is Home Care Important for Aging Veterans?
Most veterans probably want this home much as any aging American citizen-to last long enough for their later years of life home care allows an aging veteran to keep some level of normalcy in the differing lives they sometimes lead, carrying over routines from their “normal” lives. It creates an atmosphere that he or she is used to and provides an environment that can foster emotional states that assist most in recovering from illness or injury. Likewise, with some home-based help, a veteran could maintain independence and live a satisfying life.
What Are Home Care Options Available through the VA?
There are various home care programs availed by the VA to meet the different requirements of older veterans. Below are some of the more important:
- Home-Based Primary Care: Clinics visit veterans at home to deliver appropriate primary care. Typically, teams consist of various professionals – doctors, nurses, and social workers – and routine medical examinations and management of chronic conditions and medications are provided. This is very appropriate for veterans who are not very mobile or those with special medical needs.
- Veteran-Directed Home and Community-Based Services: This program is to improve the autonomy of veterans. They get this allowance for managing their individual care and can choose from a wide variety of services like assistance with bathing, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and transportation. That just brings into the program a little bit of much-needed specificity and control over what they need.
- Medical Foster Homes: It allows a new kind of living place for veterans whose needs require somewhat more, but not nursing home care. The veteran lives in an assisted, licensed foster home with a trained caregiver, who provides assistance in daily activities and organizes medical care. It creates a more homelike surrounding plus one-on-one care.
- Home Telehealth- The VA uses telehealth technology which connects patients to providers remotely for purposes of attending virtual appointments for medication management support and education programs while at home-based facilities. Telehealth provides the ease and freedom clients with limited mobility require.
- Home hospice care: it is the provision of end-of-life care to veterans in their homes. The caring staff will come to their homes in the last stages of their lives, bringing compassion into the patient’s last days. This program does the following: alleviates pain and symptoms; gives emotional support to veterans and their families, and provides spiritual guidance, if desired.
How VA Home Care Programs Are Eligible
To access VA home care programs, an individual veteran must qualify on the grounds of the particular program but may find eligibility bases: war service, service-related disability, or income status. Furthermore, they can either go straight into the local VA medical center for program and application eligibility or visit the VA website at https//www.va.gov/health-care/.
Final Thoughts: Paying Tribute to Our Veterans with Choices in Home Care
The expansion of home care options is indicative of the VA’s commitment to serving the nation’s heroes. These programs put veterans in control of being independent individuals with better living quality in their own homes. If you are a home care-eligible veteran or know one, be sure to tap the VA resources for such veterans.
Mastercare.com takes pride in serving veterans as well as their families. We are dedicated to providing resources and information to help you through the VA healthcare system. Contact us today to learn more about Mastercare’s contribution.
