Monterey, CA Caregivers of Disabled Veterans Need More Help From The Government

View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

There was a heartbreaking story in the Monterey Herald about a veteran named John Thomas Doody who was in a coma and using a ventilator, but his mother refused to put him in a nursing home and instead chose to care for him in her own home.  I understand how she feels.  The quality of care of a person in a nursing home is unlikely to be at the level of family caregivers if they have been properly trained to deal with the person's current medical condition.  And it's extremely hard to get a family caregiver to let go of a loved one, even if their prospects look bleak.  But this man's mother quit her job and moved her family to Tampa, Florida so that she could take care of him at home but still be close to a veteran's hospital.  He was shot while serving in the Marines in Iraq and suffered a series of strokes while trying to recover.  Although he's nearly blind and paralyzed, his mother says that he's made significant improvement over the years and she's hopeful for further recovery.  The V.A. has a program for families in a pickle such as this where the family caregivers are trained and given $2,000 a month plus 30 days of respite per year.  The respite is well needed, one of our Platinum Sponsors, Family inHome Caregiving, provides this service, and it is so welcomed by the families.  Although the $2,000 per month is not enough, it's certainly welcomed by the families.  Sadly, there are a lot of families who aren't eligible for this benefit which was created by Congress after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  It was not made retroactive, but many veterans are trying to get Congress to study the feasibility of the plan.  It currently serves 11,000 caregivers, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates it would need to enroll another 70,000 caregivers in the program to make it available to all disabled veterans retroactively.  Unfortunately, given our current budget situation, I think this is unlikely to happen.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.