VA Health Care Program Helps Treat Aging Veterans with Dignity

In 2002, the Department of Veterans Affairs launched the Medical Caregiver Program to supply additional look after aging veterans. The program now supports greater than 700 veterans with the assistance of 500 dedicated caregivers.

Shantel Cross and her family in Baltimore are amongst those caring for veterans. They currently look after three veterans at their home: Charles McCoubrey, Peter Samaras and Ekkehard Thies, who all served within the military within the Sixties and Seventies.

According to one page program information from VA“Medical Foster Homes are private homes that provide caregivers and supervision 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The caregiver can assist the Veteran with daily activities such as bathing and dressing. The VA ensures that the caregiver is well-trained to provide planned VA care. While living in a Medical Foster Home, Veterans receive basic home care.”

Samaras told CBS News that it’s a greater experience for him than a nursing home: “It’s nice here. And when you’re in a nursing home, they just throw you out, ignore you. But here, we’re like part of the family.”

Cross, a former nursing home employee, told CBS News that she treats the lads like family. “The daycare they go to is wonderful. We take the guys to the mall, let them walk around a bit, someone might want a coffee, so we buy them ice cream.”

Dayna Cooper, director of home and community services for the Department of Veterans Affairs, who oversees the foster care program, said the dynamic between Cross and the three veterans she fostered is a mirrored image of this system’s goals.

“Our caregivers treat the veterans like their own family,” Cooper said. “The caregivers have to live in the home with the veteran, so we really see that family bond and connection. I believe every veteran has the right to stay and age in their home and be with people who love them.”

According to the U.S. Census, nearly half of veterans in America are 65 or older. Nursing homes might be expensive, often costing greater than $100,000 a 12 months. But the respite care program costs lower than half that, and caregivers receive a mean of $2,800 a month for every veteran living of their home. In addition, any veteran who’s within the Veterans Affairs system is eligible for this system.

“It gives me peace of mind to know that I can help others and give back,” Cross said. “I love helping others and giving back. I don’t ever want to stop.”