Help With Home Care Costs For Veterans

Dignity Care - Help With Home Care Costs For Veterans

SALUTE TO THE PAST

There is a little known benefit providing help and support for eldercare costs. Veterans and their survivors may be eligible for monetary payments called the “VA Aid & Attendance Pension Benefit.” These benefits are paid out to the recipients each month to cover the costs of assistance with daily activities (cooking, cleaning, bathing, dressing, personal hygiene, etc.), Home Care Costs for Veterans. Very few people who qualify for this benefit even know about it. It is often overlooked by families of veterans and surviving spouses who need additional money for their care.  The benefit is available to honorably discharged veterans who served during a war period.

Many families are deterred from applying because the process is long and complicated. It may be worth getting some professional help. There are financial planners and consultants who specialize in veterans’ benefits and can help you understand the process. They are prohibited from charging you to actually fill out the application but can charge for information and advice. Be sure to ask upfront about how their fees since they usually say they will help you apply “for free”. Despite the added confusion of whether it is truly a free service, getting help with the application process is the best way to go

Get Creative About Home Safety Features

Dignity Care - Getting Creative Safety in the Home-2

Making a home safe for a senior is an important element of responsible caregiving, but many of us balk at having to change the way our house looks to accommodate new safety needs. Gradually though, designers are beginning to realize that just because you are losing some agility or vision doesn’t mean you are also losing your aesthetic sense.

Rock Wall GripsI was at a seminar listening to an architect talk about ways she incorporates interesting elements into her safety designs. One of her creative ideas is to use rock-climbing holds in some of the places you’d want to add a grab bar. They come in all sorts of shapes, materials, and colors, and can be added here and there to provide a convenient handhold as you move through the house.

Another creative solution is using LED tape to highlight critical areas like doorways or hallways so that someone can more easily find the bathroom in the middle of the night. The LED lights are just enough to act as a nightlight or to prevent the shadows that can distort surfaces.

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Act FAST For A Stroke

Dignity Care - Stroke Reactions

Act FAST For a Stroke!  Stroke is an emergency and a brain attack. Learn how to act FAST and call 911 at the first sign of stroke.

Recognizing stroke symptoms can be easy if you remember to think FAST. Use FAST to remember the warning signs:

F= Face            Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

A= Arms           Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S= Speech        Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Does the speech sound slurred or strange?

T= Time            If you observe any of these signs, it’s time to call 911

May is Stroke Awareness Month.  The National Stroke Association has easy ways for you to learn more about stroke before it happens to you or someone else.

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