Home is Where the HEALTH is
Home is Where the HEALTH is
Caring for Our Aging Veterans and Navigating Veterans Organizations
In this episode, host Ashton Jones and guest Linda Simon, hospice liaison at Compassus, dive into caring for our aging Veteran population, as well as navigating Veterans organizations like the VA. Linda details her passion for taking care of Veterans and shares a personal story about a patient that sticks with her to this day.
Hi everyone, I'm Ashton Jones and this is homeless where the health is. This podcast brings you the latest news on progress and innovation in the home based healthcare space in association with compasses. At the end of the day, every person deserves to be cared for with compassion. Whether they're recovering at home, dealing with a serious illness or nearing the end of life, and in the place they call home no less. That's why every month we feature different subject matter experts, and we dive deep into how their work is improving home based health care for patients. In today's episode, we're discussing caring for aging veterans, as well as navigating the VA and other veterans organizations with our guest Linda Simon, hospice liaison at compasses. And don't miss Linda's touching encounter with a veteran patient whose story sticks with her to this day. There's all that more coming up on Home is where the help is. Hey, everyone, welcome back to Home is where the health is. We're so glad you decided to tune into this month's episode. And I'm honored to introduce our guest, Linda Simon. She's a compassionate hospice liaison. It compasses, who has a passion for taking care of our aging veterans. Linda, thank you so much for taking the time to be here this morning. How are you doing?
Linda Simon:I'm doing great. It's a beautiful day here in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. And, you know, it's been a good week. So I'm thrilled to be here. Thank you.
Ashton Jones:I'm glad to hear that. Yeah. So once again, it's great to have you here. And I want to start off today's episode the way that we always do. And that's by giving our listeners a little more information about you. So where do you want to start?
Linda Simon:Well, I'm married. I have two daughters. They are both starting to have children. So I'm becoming a grandma. I can't even believe I'm saying that. But it's it really is. It's pretty awesome.
Ashton Jones:And what about professionally? What is your background look like?
Linda Simon:Well, professionally, the absolutely awesome thing is that I've been able to take my background of what I've done in the past, and use pretty much all of it in the job that I have now. I have done training, I worked at a computer company. I also have done sales. And I've also worked at an ad agency for seven and a half years. And actually, what happened was, my husband had a friend whose mother worked at another hospice company. She said to me, Linda, you would be a perfect fit for hospice. I said, Well, I know I certainly would consider it, it was a marketing position. And I decided, Okay, I'll do an interview. And the position was a veteran liaison position. So I looked at the description, and I went, Oh, wow, I would really love to do that. I came from a very patriotic family. And, you know, we just were raised to have respect for those who served. That's kind of how I started. I did that for three years. And then someone who I worked with at that company came to life choice, which compasses bought. And then took a little coaxing because I was pretty comfortable where I was. But I, I made the switch. And I've been here 10 and a half year or 10. They've actually just had my 10th anniversary here, October 22. So that's my journey into this role.
Ashton Jones:Well, on that note, let's go ahead and jump into our first main topic of the day, which is about caring for aging veterans. So Linda, can you start off right at the beginning by talking about why compasses has a veteran's program?
Linda Simon:That is a really, really good question. And, you know, first it starts with the heart. It starts with passion. Because if if you have the connection between who the veteran is, what that person has done, so that we can have the freedom that we have in this country to do what we do here, without any concerns of the government or Whatever, you know, we have freedom of speech, we have freedom of everything that we value. And when we again, value that freedom, then you want to sank, respect and honor those who have given us and sacrificed for that freedom. That is the why we do what we do.
Ashton Jones:Yeah. And in that process, how crucial is collaboration of care to a veteran patients success?
Linda Simon:Well, I would say that it's critical. The reason is because we're talking about a whole person. We're talking as we do in hospice, we're talking about psychosocial, we're talking about clinical, we're talking about spiritual. And we're talking about, you know, family dynamics, we're talking about a lot of different facets of the people and the families that we are supporting. And with that, we have many veterans who we take care of, that are referred to us by the VA, the VA Medical Center, specifically. So veterans who are affiliated with a VA Medical Center, concurrently, while they're on hospice, are still going to the VA for care. And for us to be able to collaborate with the VA doctors, and other social workers and other staff who are taking care of that veteran, along with our staff. That partnership, is the best kind of collaboration of care that we can show that veteran, we have relationships with the VA that we've had for many, many years. They're experts in symptoms related to treatment, we're experts in symptoms related to end of life. So when we can collaborate together, we can discern then which of those symptoms, how those symptoms rather, should be treated? Because then we know the source. So that is going to give a better quality of life, and a better outcome for that veteran and the family. Linda,
Ashton Jones:can you talk a little bit about the we honor veterans programs and how those can really help families and patients in need.
Linda Simon:We honor veterans is a part of NH PCO national Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. So we at compasses are using the we honor veterans program to be able to learn as much as we can about how to serve our veterans. It gives us an opportunity because of the resources available through we honor veterans to be able to educate our staff to be able to provide education in the community with regards to how the VA Medical Centers work, and also how to get VA benefits. And what end of life care looks like for veterans. So there's a lot of education available through we honor veterans and presentations that can be used to you know, give to those various groups. So, um, there are levels that need to be achieved within that program. But we have learned through we honor veterans, how to be able to better care for that population.
Ashton Jones:Definitely. Can you talk a little bit about honoring and recognizing our veteran patients, because I know that's such an important part, keeping up morale and showing that we really care about their well being?
Linda Simon:Oh, it's really awesome. It's a privilege to be able to honor our veterans at every opportunity that we can. As an example, we had a veteran who worked at Boeing aircraft in the greater Philadelphia area, and he worked there for 35 years, and they built helicopters. So every year they had a lottery and if you won the lottery, you got a ride on one Under the helicopters, well, this, this guy had never won the lottery. So we decided, what would be great for him is to work with our local small airport and get him a 30 minute ride on a helicopter. And this is what we did. He got in the helicopter, they did their 30 minute ride, he came back, he looked at us waiting on the tarmac, turned around and lifted up his thumb. Like, this was awesome, I can tell you that that was so meaningful for both the veteran and his son, to have that memory. In fact, the nursing home administrator where this veteran patient resided, I met him at another facility about two years later. And I introduced myself told him I was from compasses. And he said, Wait a minute, did you take Mr. So and so on that helicopter ride, that was an instant bond with that administrator. So kind of went full circle?
Ashton Jones:Well, we're gonna take a quick break from our main discussion to share a story with you. And the reason we want to spend time on a single story is because when you're looking at the big picture, it's so easy to forget about all the people impacted by this work. And at the end of the day, it's all about touching a life. So before we get started, I did ask Linda to come prepared with a story to share with all of you something that has impacted her both professionally and personally. So Linda, your story relates to a veteran patient, is that right?
Linda Simon:It is right? I think this particular Marine, he'll always stay in my heart. He was a guy who lived in a skilled nursing facility. And he was a tough Marine. Any time any of the staff there would come into his room, he would look at his watch. And he would say, you should have been in here a minute ago. So here he is, he's our patient. And the rumors from the facility about him were like good luck, because he is really difficult. So my colleague and I visited this veteran. And as we got to know him, we saw and heard from him that what caused this angry expression on his face, stemmed from he had lost his wife, he had lost his son, who had actually been killed in the military. And he had lost his independence, his ability to move because now he was bed bound. And those losses all happened within an 18 month period. So this added to his PTSD, his need to control and his toughness. So we decided to present him with a certificate. Our whole entire team came in my colleague, and myself were next to him in his bed, and we presented him with his certificate. And when we read to him, everything that was on the certificate, thanked him for his service saluted him. And if I could tell you the tears that flowed from his eyes when he saw and felt the recognition and the honor that we were all giving him, despite how he had been treating all of us, yeah, that touched his soul. That was a paradigm shift within him, of I can trust these people. They care about me, that was a turning point in us being able to care for him, for the staff to be able to care for him at the facility. And I'm thankful that we had the opportunity to have that experience. It was powerful.
Ashton Jones:Yeah, that's amazing. And a great message for anyone, you know, to be able to find peace and Well, thank you for sharing that story. I I want to continue our discussion by now moving into the VA and other veterans organizations. So the first question I have for you off the bat is, I'm sure there are some listeners who aren't very familiar with the VA, or veterans benefits or other organizations in general. So what are a few things that our listeners need to know?
Linda Simon:Well, I could start out with two things. One is I would say that all the A's are not alike. Just because you know, one VA does not mean you know, all vas, that is an important thing to remember. And then, the second thing to remember is that there are two parts of the VA, if you take the VA, you can divide it into health care services, which are provided by the VA medical centers, and financial benefits, money that is applied for through the Veterans Benefits Administration. So kind of in our minds, we have to separate money through the VA from services, health care services, right. So once, once we do that, then through health care services at the VA medical centers, a veteran has to be registered there to receive those services, cardiology, nephrology, oncology, all these specialists, depending on the VA that's closest to the veteran. There are many other services as well, prosthetics, if there are items at home that are needed, wheelchair ramps, stair chairs, you know, things other than the kind of prosthetics that we think of, you know, those things are available through the VA, primary care, primary care through the VA is something that you can have, in addition to your own community, PCP, because just staying current with your VA PCP gives you access to these kinds of services. Also, what we deal with a lot of end of life in terms of benefits, is aid and attendance, aid and attendance is a benefit applied for again, through the Veterans Benefits Administration. And if you meet the income and asset limits, as well as the activities of daily living, then if the veteran of either you know, himself or the spouse of a veteran, that benefit is for either the veteran spouse or surviving spouse. So, to that, I just want to say that, you know, they look at activities of daily living, and how many of those are necessary to be able to be eligible for the benefit, and also income and assets. So, the veteran had to have served, you know, one day during a period of war and a minimum of 90 days active duty. So once those kinds of things have been satisfied, they can apply. And that again, can give a veteran, a spouse or a surviving spouse, money. You know, sometimes both the veteran and spouse need aid and attendance, money, but it pays for all out of pocket medical expenses. So if the veteran or the spouse are at home, it will help them be able to, let's say hire a private duty home health aide. If the veteran is in an assisted living facility as an example, it can offset the monthly amount they're paying to the assisted living facility or personal care facility. So it's really, really important that we are knowledgeable, which many of our programs are as to the benefits that are available for the veteran or his spouse or surviving spouse.
Ashton Jones:Yeah, along those lines, our team definitely kind of acts as an advocate for veteran patients. Right. And so can you give an example of what that might look like in one of our programs?
Linda Simon:Yes, oh, M advocacy is something that is a way for us to be able to show that veteran and family, we value what you did for us. Now what we're going to do is any way that we can advocate for you, we are honored to be able to do so. I've had many veterans that say, Hey, I'm getting this bill, for from the VA for this medication, and I never used to pay for it. Why am I getting this bill? So I found out that this family was hanging for the past two months,$700 a month for these eyedrops. Wow. So I went into the ophthalmology department at the VA. I said, you know, this is what's going on? What happened? Guess what, the ophthalmologist just needed to write a new script, the refill had run out. Right away, the nurse practitioner put in the request for the new script. And guess what? They started getting their medications again, I was able to advocate for that veteran and family. And they no longer had to pay 700 bucks a month. Yes and a lot of money.
Ashton Jones:I'm sure that made a big difference.
Linda Simon:It certainly did. And you know, that's just another example of having access into a VA as a compasses program enables us to be able to do things that someone else might not be able to do. And they're dealing with enough at end of life, the families and the veterans, they don't need to also have to have any kind of frustration, or anything else that interrupts and intersects their life in a negative way.
Ashton Jones:Well, before we wrap up our conversation today, what are the things that you want to leave our listeners with? And what do you hope that they take away from this conversation?
Linda Simon:I would say that one Our veterans deserve everything that we can do for them. Our freedom isn't free. And this is why and this is what it costs. And we need to be there. For these men and women who sacrificed. That's the first thing I would say. Second is as a result of that we provide education and training in the community as well. Because there are so many available benefits and resources for our veteran patients and families. And that sometimes they would not know about any of this. If we didn't tell them. And nothing is too small. It's easy to see a veteran on an elevator wearing his hat or her hat. And you say, Oh, thank you so much for serving our country. Thank you so much for the freedom. That's a simple little thing that we can all do. Yeah, it means a tremendous amount. And the more we learn about the VA, the benefits that are available resources in the community, the more we can also make a difference in someone's life.
Ashton Jones:Well, that brings us to the end of this episode of Home is where the help is. Today we talked about caring for aging veterans as well as navigating veterans organizations. Linda, I want to thank you for being our guest and sharing such insightful information on veteran initiatives at compasses. For listeners, we hope you found today's topics are interesting and informative. If you're looking for veterans services to support your family or others, we encourage you to check out the VA caregiver support program. It offers clinical services to caregivers of eligible and covered veterans enrolled in the VA Health Care System. If you liked today's episode and you're listening on a streaming service, go ahead and give us a like and a follow and be sure to tune in next month for another in depth discussion on innovation in the home based care space with one of our experts. Until then, this is Ashton Jones with Home is where the health is. Thanks for listening