The Alzheimer's Digest: Veterans

Showing posts with label Veterans. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The VA Caregiver Peer Support Mentoring Program

Each year in April, we join in celebrating ordinary people doing extraordinary things during National Volunteer Week. VA’s Caregiver Support Program is celebrating our volunteer Caregivers who serve as Peer Mentors in our Caregiver Peer Support Mentoring Program. Volunteering as a Caregiver Mentor provides support to other Caregivers of Veterans by letting them know that they are not alone in their struggles or in their triumphs. National Volunteer Week celebrates ordinary people. Our Caregiver Peer Support Mentors contributed approximately 1,200 volunteer hours this past year. VA’s Caregiver Support Program is happy to join in the celebration of the enormous contributions that volunteers make every day.

Thank you to our Caregiver Mentors for their work and dedication!

The VA Caregiver Peer Support Mentoring Program was developed to strengthen relationships between Caregivers of all eras, to provide an opportunity for networking, and to empower Caregivers to help one another. The VA Caregiver Peer Support Mentoring Program began in January 2012. Experienced Caregivers are matched with less experienced Caregivers to provide support and an opportunity to share common experiences. More than 150 Caregivers have participated, both as Mentors and as Mentees. Interested in learning more about the Caregiver Peer Support Program? Please contact your Caregiver Support Coordinator or visit www.caregiver.va.gov to find the closest Caregiver Support Coordinator by using the zip code look up.

Dementia Signage for the Home

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Health Care For Family Caregivers of Veterans

It’s important for family Caregivers of Veterans to take care of their own health while taking care of the Veteran they love! VA offers a comprehensive health care program called the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) for family members of seriously ill or injured Veterans who meet specific criteria including Veterans who are rated permanently and totally disabled for a service-connected disability by VA. In addition, eligible Family Caregivers of eligible post 9/11 Veterans participating in VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers may also be eligible for CHAMPVA. For more information about CHAMPVA, please visit http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/champva/champva.asp. In addition, the Affordable Care Act, also known as the health care law, was created to expand access to affordable health care coverage to all Americans, lower costs, and improve quality and care coordination. Under the health care law, people will have health coverage that meets a minimum standard (called "minimum essential coverage"). The health care law designates CHAMPVA as fulfilling "minimum essential coverage". Please note that if you are not eligible for CHAMPVA and are interested in learning more about the Affordable Care Act, the deadline for enrollment for health coverage is March 31, 2014. There is information about the Affordable Care Act at http://www.va.gov/health/aca/. Please visit http://www.caregiver.va.gov/ for more information about VA's Caregiver Support Program.

Medication Reminder Notepad

Doctor's Appointment Reminder Notes Notepad

Weekly To Do List Notepad

Prescription Bottle Refill Date Stickers

Memory Ring/Keychain (Pink)

Calendar Appointment Reminder Stickers (White)

Ride Reminder Notes Memo Pad

Bathroom Routine Activity Card

Dementia Signage for the Home

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Can a Veteran Get a Pension to Pay for Long-term Care?

Caregivers and their elderly parents are often frustrated by the vague information they receive from the VA explaining how to apply for pensions to help pay for long-term care.
The following is an excerpt from "Checks for Vets" by Joseph Scott McCarthy. This guidebook helps vets apply for pensions to help pay for long-term care.

"Imagine that you have just made the agonizing decision to move your elderly father into an assisted living facility because he can no longer care for himself. He is an honorably discharged veteran with no dependents. The assisted living costs about $3,000 per month. Your father has a total income of $1,400 per month from social security and interest. His net worth is $60,000. How will you be able to afford the cost of the assisted living facility?

The answer could be an Aid and Attendance pension for veterans. Because your father was honorably discharged, has caregiver needs due to his disability and has a net worth of less than $80,000, and meets the income requirements, he is eligible to receive a pension check for $1,644 per month from the Department of Veteran Affairs Aid and Attendance pension program. In addition, after your elderly father starts to receive the Aid and Attendance pension, he will also be able to receive free medications from a VA mail-order pharmacy.

Surviving spouses of wartime service veterans are also eligible for this pension; however they are not eligible for free medications.

While submitting an error-free claim can shorten your claim process, there will still be a waiting period before your claim can be approved. The waiting period for pension approval id different in each state and is dependent on a number of factor, including the retirement of significant numbers of VA regions office employees; the number of responsibilities place on the regional office, such as processing foreign country claims; and whether the regional office sends its claims to other offices for processing.

The waiting period also varies according to the backlog of claims the VA is processing. However, once the VA determines that you are eligible to receive a pension, the check you receive will contain a lump sum amount retroactive to the first of the month after your application date.

In addition to a wealth of information about veteran pensions, McCarthy's book "Checks for Vets" contains samples of the forms you need and tips for successfully filing a claim for an Aid and Attendance or Housebound pension.

There also is a special pension for care that many people don't even know about, and it is worth looking into to see if your veteran or surviving spouse qualify.