If you are a primary caregiver for a veteran and your company doesn’t offer an Eldercare Employee Benefit at work, you may feel alone. There is a program called, “Homemaker/Home Health Aide” that is offered through the Veteran Administration (VA). This program provides care services in the home through approved agencies. A registered nurse will go in and do an initial assessment and work with a trained home health aide to provide assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s) for the veteran. Here are some examples of the services that they provide:
Examples of daily activities you may be able to receive help with include:
- Eating
- Getting dressed
- Bathing
- Using the bathroom
- Moving from one place to another
- Shopping for food
- Cooking
- Cleaning
- Doing laundry
- Paying bills or managing money
- Taking medication
- Getting to appointments
- Using the telephone
Who is Eligible for These Services?
These services are part the VHA Standard Medical Benefits Package. Enrolled Veterans are eligible if they meet the clinical need for the service. There could be a copay for these services based on your VA service-connected disability status. The Homemaker Home Health Aide services can be used in combination with other Home and Community Based Services.
The VA Wants to Help You the Caregiver and the Veteran Benefit from this Program
If you are a Veteran and you’re not sure that you could need/use these veterans benefits, there is a Veteran checklist that you can review to help decide if this program is right for you. Now if you are the caring for a Veteran, this Caregiver checklist will help you decide if this program will help you.
Questions that are important to talk about with your social worker and family should include:
- How much assistance do I need for my activities of daily living (e.g., bathing and getting dressed)?
- What are my caregiver’s needs?
- How much independence and privacy do I want?
- What sort of social interactions are important to me?
- How much can I afford to pay for care each month?
These questions are difficult to talk about. I would recommend that you each (veteran and caregiver) answer your questions above out separately and seal them in an envelope and hand them to your social worker and let them review. Include the appropriate checklist in the envelope so all the facts are together.
If you are looking to find VA hospitals, clinics and Veteran centers in any state, territory or commonwealth click here
If you want to learn more about this program, watch this short video. If you work for a company that doesn’t offer eldercare employee benefits, please have them reach out to Senior Providers Network and we can set up a demonstration on how our affordable program works.
