Veteran gets foster home instead of nursing home

Why didn't anyone think of this before? This is such a great idea when you consider there are people in this country taking in homeless dogs. The dogs are cared for until someone adopts them by their foster families. When we were looking for a dog, Save-a-life gave us the option of being a foster family or adopting. We fell in love with our dog, so right away, we adopted him. We were ready to do whatever it took to give him a good home. Veterans in this country have not been so lucky.

Many veterans have no family to help take care of them or even visit them in a nursing home. Doing something like this is an outstanding idea! There was something like this after WWII. My husband's uncle was on a ship that was sunk. He was in the ocean for a few days. When he came home he was sent to live on a farm with a couple dedicated to taking care of veterans. They lived there, were cared about and given something to do with their days. While it gave him a better quality of life even with what was called "Shell-shock" it can only work better now because there is a lot more knowledge of what needs to be done.

Local Veteran is First to Receive One-of-a-Kind Care
Local Veteran is First to Receive One-of-a-Kind Care
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21 2011 18:22 KYLE WARNKE
Kenneth Gaddis is a Korean War veteran who recently found himself a new home, thanks to the help of the V.A. Medical Center of Dublin.
The V.A. Center started a program to put veterans into a foster home instead of a nursing home. The focus is to give veterans one-on-one care in a person's house, rather than being just another patient in a nursing home.
Kenneth Gaddis is the first middle Georgian to take advantage of this program.
Gaddis' foster 'family', is Lisa Akins. She helps by helping Gaddis make his bed, cook his food, and take him to the store.
But Kenneth says he likes helping Lisa around the house, doing things just like he did when he was younger.
"Yeah, I like to help her if I can," Gaddis says. "Do things that I used to...help bring in the groceries, something like that."
But the V.A. Center needs more help from families for more veterans. According to a V.A. Center spokesman, veterans who are in the foster care program see better health results, because they typically get more attention and exercise.
And Lisa says Kenneth is not a patient, he's a part of the family.
"We just hang out as a family," she says. "He goes out with the family and hangs out with us. Like he's a part of the family."
If you are interested in becoming a foster family for a local veteran, or would like more information about the program, you can click here