Monterey, CA : Veterans Taken In By Kind Strangers
by Richard Kuehn on 04/16/12
Monterey, CA : Veterans
Taken In By Kind Strangers : View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel
Valley, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey,
Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California
The latest issue of AARP
Magazine had a great story about
88 year-old veteran Louis David who was taken in by a family who provides him
with 24-hour caregiving. He found them
through a program called the Medical
Foster Home Program of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs who
finds caregivers for veterans in need and the veteran only pays between $1,500
and $3,000 per month. It offers veterans
an alternative to having to go into a nursing home, and the Veteran's
Administration is able to do this at less than half the cost of
institutionalizing the veteran. The
family who took David in needed the money but did it more to honor a family
member who was a veteran. "I treat
him like I'd hope somebody would have treated my father when he was
alive," Naomi McGraw told AARP
Magazine. What a wonderful gift Naomi is giving to a complete stranger
and what a great way to honor her father.
To find out more about the program go
to the V.A. web site. Here are the options the V.A. provides:
Adult
Family Homes (Adult Foster Homes)
This residential care setting is not provided or paid for
by VA. Your VA social worker or case manager, however, may be able to help you
with eligibility guidelines.
Assisted
Living
This residential care setting is not provided or paid for
by VA. Your VA social worker or case manager, however, may be able to help you
with eligibility guidelines.
Community
Living Center (VA Nursing Home)
To be admitted into a Community Living Center, you must
be enrolled in the VA health care system and have clinical need for nursing
home care. You must also be medically and psychiatrically stable. VA will pay
for Community Living Center care if you meet certain eligibility criteria
involving your service connected status, level of disability, and income. If
you do not meet these requirements, a co-payment may be charged for this care.
Medicare usually does not pay for a Community Living Center.
Community
Nursing Home
The VA will pay for Community Nursing Home care if you
have clinical need for nursing home care and meet eligibility criteria
involving your service connected status, level of disability and income. If you
do not meet these requirements, you will have a co-payment for Community
Nursing Home care. Medicare usually does not pay for Community Nursing Home
care.
Medical
Foster Home
In order to live in a Medical Foster Home you need to be
enrolled in Home Based Primary Care. You will continue
to receive Home Based Primary Care services in the Medical Foster Home. VA,
however, will not pay for the cost of living in a Medical Foster Home. The
charge for a Medical Foster Home is about $1500 to $3000 each month based on
your income and the level of care you need.
State
Veterans Home
Each State establishes eligibility and admission criteria
for its homes. Some State Veterans Homes may admit non-Veteran spouses and gold
star parents while others may admit only Veterans. A recognized State Veterans
Home may receive payments from VA to help defray the cost of care provided to
Veterans. The cost to you varies by state. VA does not pay for care of
non-Veterans.
Source: V.A.
http://www.va.gov/GERIATRICS/Guide/LongTermCare/Medical_Foster_Homes.asp
