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Fall 2023 Veterans Way

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VETERANS WAYVETERANS WAYFALL 2023FALL 2023UNDERSTANDING VA BENEFITS THAT PAY FOR CAREGIVING SERVICESAMADA CAREGIVERSWHO ARE VETERANSRECEIVE AWARDAMADA CAREGIVERSWHO ARE VETERANSRECEIVE AWARDVA FUNDING FORSENIOR CARE NEEDSVA FUNDING FORSENIOR CARE NEEDS| AMADA IS YOUR ADVOCATEHONORING THOSEWHO HELP OURVETERANSHONORING THOSEWHO HELP OURVETERANSTHINK YOU NEEDHOME CARE? ASKTHESE 6 QUESTIONSTHINK YOU NEEDHOME CARE? ASKTHESE 6 QUESTIONS

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Did you know certain VA benefits can be used tohelp cover the cost of in-home care? Three mainbenefits are available to qualifying seniorveterans OR their surviving spouse.BENEFIT #1: Aid and Attendance The VA Aid and Attendance benefit providesadditional funds to a qualified veteran’s or asurviving spouse’s monthly VA pension to helpcover the cost of in-home care. Who qualifies for Aid and Attendance (A&A)? Military: Veteran must have served 90 days ofactive duty (two years of active duty for PersianGulf service), with at least one of those daysduring wartime.Medical: Veteran or surviving spouse must needassistance with activities of daily living, likebathing, dressing, grooming, walking, mealpreparation, eating, etc. Money: Veteran or surviving spouse mustcurrently be spending the majority of theirincome on care expenses.L E T A M A D A B E Y O U R D E D I C A T E D A D V O C A T EBe enrolled in a VA health care benefitspackage.Has confirmed eligibility for community-basedcare services.Have a doctor’s order to receive home careservices.BENEFIT #2: Homemaker and Home Health Aide The goal of the Homemaker/Home Health Aide(HHA) program is to help veterans remain safeand independent while continuing to live in theirown homes.A trained home health aide or homemaker, underthe supervision of a registered nurse, goes to theveteran’s home to support activities of daily living,like bathing, dressing, grooming, walking, mealpreparation, eating, etc., as well ascompanionship.The HHA or homemaker is contracted through anon-VA provider typically is a home care agency.Who qualifies for Homemaker/HHA?To receive VA home care assistance with theHomemaker/HHA benefit, a veteran must:VETERANS BENEFITS UNDERSTANDING VA BENEFITS FOR CAREGIVING SERVICES BENEFIT #3: Respite Care The VA Respite Care program pays for care for ashort period of time that lets family caregivers geta break, run their own errands, or seek their ownmedical care.Depending on the veteran’s location and availableservices, respite care may include home visits by ahome health aide, attendance at an adult day careprogram, short-term stays in a community livingcenter/VA nursing home, or short-term stay at anin-patient VA medical center. To receive VA respite care, a veteran must:Be enrolled in a VA health care benefits package(some exceptions made). Need assistance with activities of daily living(dressing, preparing meals, bathing, etc.) and/orhave a chronic illness or condition that requires alevel of professional care. Be any age but typically priority is given to olderveterans (aged 75 and up) or to vets with a greaterfinancial or health need.CLICK HERE To fill in our webform requestinga FREE Care Needs Assessmentand VA Benefits Review

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VETERANS TURNED CAREGIVERSa rat-infested home that looked abandoned andoften lay in bed all day. Other caregivers passed onvisiting this client, but Martin said, “I saw him theother day and would like to cheer him up again.” Martin encouraged the client to eat better and madesure healthier foods were available when a caregiverwasn’t around. He taught the client how to use theremote control, and even his cell phone so that hecould talk to his daughter.Don Johnson, who is a caregiver atAmada Springfield, MO, is walkingproof that true friendship is based oncommunication. He and senior clientJim bonded over the god-wink ofbeing brought together and theirbelief in sharing the ministry. Theytag-team preach during weeklydevotions at nursing facilities andbring comfort to others at in-homeBible study groups.Don makes Jim gourmet-level food,keeps his home spotless, gets him toevery doctor’s appointment andministry event, and shares about hisyears serving in the military. Once helearned about an event Jim had goneto all his life but would be unable toget to without help, Don took it uponhimself to take Jim on the road trip.MARTIN HOPKINSDON JOHNSONMartin Hopkins, a caregiver atAmada CentralHouston, TX, didnot hesitate whenasked to assist aveteran who hadbecomedepressed andalmost nonverbal.The client lived in Amada’s Caregiver Value Awards are presentedto recognize outstanding employees who enrichlives. This year’s honorees include two careproviders who are veterans themselves andsee the act of caregiving as a true call to service.We at Amada Senior Care are delighted to countDon and Martin in our ranks of A+ caregivers.CLICK HEREto read more about Don Johnson, MartinHopkins, and the other four 2023 AmadaCaregiver Value Awards recipients.

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RECOGNIZING THOSE WHO SERVE OUR NATION’S VETERANSA M A D A F A R M I N G T O N H I L L S ( M I )H O N O R S V E T E R A N S ’ A D V O C A T E SAmada Senior Care of Farmington Hills, MI, proudly presented service awards honoring thosewho support veterans during a September 27th ceremony at the Dingell VA Medical Center inDetroit. Amada co-owners Greg Hines and Kevin Manuel have been active partners since 2016.“We wanted to honor the folks within the VA and the community that services veterans,” Gregsaid. “Some of them are veterans themselves who help find benefits and services – whatevermakes life a little easier for veterans.” “We feel lucky to work with the Wayne County Commissioner Monique Baker McCormick tohelp bring our veteran community together and support each other,” Greg added.ON THE FRONT LINE FOR VETSGreg Hines (L) and Kevin Manuel (R) present VA service awards

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Are you a senior veteran or a surviving spousewondering about home care? Maybe you're afamily caregiver who needs help supporting anelder loved one. Perhaps you're the adult child ofan aging parent who needs companionship.You may be a senior coming to terms with yourown limitations that are surfacing with age, andwondering about your long-term care options.Here are six important questions to answer as youstart assessing your situation.1. What challenges do seniors face?General aging brings a normal set of challengesfor senior loved ones. Especially if you are theadult child of a senior who lives alone, you maywant them to have home care out of precautionaryconcern. Protecting your senior loved one fromrisks like isolation and senior falls would be goodreasons to find them home care.A temporary illness or injury may be a biggerreason for needing long-term care. Once a seniorhas suffered from a fall, cardiac disease or othercommon illnesses and injuries, he or she may haveto undergo intensive care in a hospital. Seniorsrecovering from temporary illness or injury willgenerally get well sooner with home care thatprovides support with activities of daily living theymay not be able to physically do.HELP AT HOME FOR VETERANS & SPOUSESA senior experiencing a progressive diseaseclearly needs long-term care. Progressive diseaseslike Alzheimer's disease, dementia, emphysema, ordiabetes can worsen and spread causing seriousdebility until death. Family caregivers like a spouse or adult child whoare supporting senior loved ones living with aprogressive disease are in need of respite care.2. How much care does the senior require?Determining how much care a senior needs issubjective to many factors. For one, a doctor'sorders that may come after a regular checkup, treatment in the hospital or continued treatmentof a progressive disease should strongly dictateyour measure of care the senior in questionneeds.The doctor may specify things that his or herpatient should not do without assistance, likeactivities of daily living. Trying to do these thingswithout help is against a professional's bestadvice and can even cause harm. You may be the family caregiver who has seen aprogression of limitations that inhibit your seniorloved one from performing tasks that they usedto be able to do on their own. Occasionally?Several times/week?Every day, from 9AM-5PM?24/7?You may have had to carry the brunt of their dailyliving helping with hygiene, cleaning, eating,dressing or toileting. These time measures can puta good label on your answer for this importantquestion:Does your senior loved one require care...Continued on Next Page6 Q U E S T I O N S T O A S K A B O U T I N - H O M E C A R EF O R Y O U R S E L F O R A S E N I O R L O V E D O N EVETERANS & SPOUSES:

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VETERANS & SPOUSES:6 Q U E S T I O N S T O A S K A B O U T I N - H O M E C A R EBathingDressingMeal preparation/feedingMedication remindersWalking/ambulating/exercise assistanceHousekeepingErrands/shoppingToiletingMost non-medical assistancePaying for care can come from three options:Government Aid (Medicare or Veterans'Benefits)Personal Funding or Private PayLong-Term Care Insurance3. What services do you need?Long-term care entails services that cover a varietyof medical and non-medical needs. Typically,caregivers providing long-term care will help withnon-medical daily activities, household duties,transportation and companionship. People whoreceive long-term care because of chronic illnessesor disability cannot care for themselves for a longperiod of time.They may require more care than help with dailyactivities, such as medical care from skilledprofessionals and hospital outpatient care.Amada Senior Care caregivers assist with:4. How will you finance care?HELP AT HOME FOR VETERANS & SPOUSES Middle-class families will find themselves in limbobetween needing government assistance, but notqualifying for it. Making a long-term care insuranceclaim can be challenging, especially dealing withmultiple calls, records and approval process.5. Who will provide care?Your answers for questions from above will be veryhelpful when you decide who will provide seniorcare for you or your loved one. Know that there aremany providers competing for your business Licensed AgencyIn-Home Private CaregiverIndependent/Assisted Living Facilityand that you, within the constraints of yourregional location and the payment options youhave, are definitely able to find solutions that arebest for you or your elderlyDepending on the level of care you need, you mayfind yourself choosing between these careprovider options:Independent caregivers may not have liabilityprotection in the case that they cause harm to asenior or if they become injured on the job. Thiscreates a dangerous risk for lawsuits that cancarry on for ages.Licensed agencies like Amada Senior Care fully screen their caregivers and hire them asemployees under sufficient coverage. You willfind trustworthy caregivers from Amada. Or, ifyou or your senior loved one must live in a carecommunity, an Amada senior care advisor canhelp you find your ideal living situation.6. How will you monitor care?With time, families change. All age, includingchildren who were once cared for by their now-elderly parents. Roles may flip when childrenbecome the care providers instead. This may bedone through managing hired help or by thechildren and spouse providing the care. But whenfamily is far away, it is even more important tomonitor the care of an elderly loved one. Howwould you be able to do this?With Amada, you can closely monitor the care ofyour elderly loved one with our Amada Connecttechnology that uses sensors in the home.CLICK HEREto find an Amadaoffice near you

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PASS IN REVIEWAMADA SUPPORTING VETSAMADA SUPPORTING VETSCLICK HERE or on the photo above to hearfrom Asa Shuey, owner of Amada Wichita,speaks about the Veteran CommunityPartnership. Amada Wichita serves veteransand their families from McConnell Air ForceBase and Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center.Asa and members of his care team take partin veteran resource fairs and other eventsbenefitting retired and active-duty militarypersonnel and their families.“My primary goal is getting them into contactwith VA departments and VA-system communitymembers and start the transition into accessingresources as seamlessly as possible,” Asa said.Honor wall in Amada Wichitaoffice showing emblemsfor all military service branches.