44 states have a medical foster home program where elderly veterans receive care in a private home.
The VA of Nebraska-western Iowa hopes to bring more medical foster homes to veterans here. Lori Berkland-Jones, Medical Foster Home Coordinator for the Omaha VA, says there are advantages to a private home setting over a care center.
"They’re not being taken care of by a multitude of staff that are coming in and out of their rooms that may or may not have a good understanding of what their medical needs are. They’re going to have one or two caregivers that provide this care round-the-clock, who work very closely with the home-based primary care nurse case manager so they have a great understanding of the veteran’s medical needs are."
Jones says right now there’s one medical foster home, in Fremont. If a home is available, veterans are eligible for the program if they have a chronic condition, and the ability to pay for the care. More information on the program is available at www.va.gov/geriatrics.