In serving older adults across the country, we often help those who have served in the military. Many members of my family have served, so it is a great honor to be able to say that we help these elderly veterans every day.
There are quite a few members of the Home Helpers team who are veterans, too. For example, Bonnie Roberts, the owner of Home Helpers of Londonderry, New Hampshire, was a U.S. Navy officer and spent over two decades in the military. She is now co-chair of the Caregiver Advisory Committee for her local VA hospital. (As a dedicated servant to her community and a successful home care agency and franchise business owner, she was also named an “Extraordinary Woman” by the Nashua Telegraph in 2015.)
Helping Veterans Enjoy Their Freedom at Home
In striving to fulfill our mission to support and make life easier for individuals wherever they call home, we come in contact with many aging vets. While serving in the military, they took care of us—and now it’s our turn to take care of them.
I believe that in almost all situations, in-home care is the best option to help elderly veterans continue to enjoy the freedom they have served to protect for all of us. Here are three reasons why:
1) In-home care allows veterans to live independently at home.
No one looks forward to leaving their home and their family to live in a nursing home or assisted living facility, and our veterans deserve this least of all. By taking proper precautions and providing the best support, we can help our elderly loved ones remain independent, aging in place where they feel comfortable and familiar: at home.
2) In-home care gives the veteran’s family peace of mind.
Having sacrificed for others, many older veterans want to avoid feeling like a burden on their loved ones. But when an elderly veteran gets sick, or starts to need help with activities of daily living, the care duties often fall to the closest family member.
This is where in-home care agencies like Home Helpers come in. The helping hand we provide frees family members to be family members again, rather than family caregivers. With a trusted professional caregiver in place, the family can rest assured that their older veteran is in good hands—and he can enjoy the fact that he isn’t overburdening the family anymore.
3) In-home care is covered by the Aid and Attendance Benefit.
The Aid and Attendance Benefit helps veterans receive the in-home care they need. It is estimated that 2 million veterans and their families are eligible for this little-known funding assistance from the federal government. Many of our nation’s heroes need help with activities of daily living as a result of injuries, aging, dementia and more, and the Aid and Attendance Benefit is there to make sure these vets get the in-home care help they need.
The process of obtaining this benefit through the VA can seem daunting, but through a partnership with Veterans Care Coordination we are able to help those needing assistance with the application process.
Mark Thommarson, owner of Home Helpers of Corsicana, Texas, has personal experience with obtaining the A&A benefit:
Veterans Care Coordination made the process easy and understandable, and they were there to answer my questions every step of the way. The $2,000 worth of care that was previously being paid for by my siblings and me is now being paid for by the VA.