An ADRC staff member referred Larry and Sandy to the VBS, who helped the couple enroll in a community LTSS program called Aging Alternatives for in-home services. During this time, Sandy passed away, but the VBS continued to work with Larry and helped him apply for VA disability compensation, enroll in VHA health care, and connect to VA’s Veteran Directed Home and Community Based Services (VDHCBS) program for in-home services.
Larry received a 70% service-connected disability rating and started receiving monthly compensation from the VA. Although Larry wants to stay at home, the rating of 70% service connection allows VA to cover nursing home placement should it be needed. He established a VA primary care physician and uses VDHCBS to purchase in-home services. Since Larry receives in-home services from the VHA, he was discharged from the Aging Alternatives program. This allowed the ADRC to reallocate this resource to another person in need. Larry is still living at home.
Future Directions
This case study highlights the benefits for veterans of COVER to COVER program through its emphasis on productive relationships between VA and community partners. More extensive data collection related to veteran outcomes is ongoing and will be essential for sustaining the program locally and to support broader dissemination to other states. Ideally, expansion to other sites will include temporary pilot funding to offset the time needed to gain the knowledgeand skills to become a VBS and to provide consultation and training to other ADRC staff. Once the pilot funding ends, the ADRC staff would have the necessary knowledge, skills, and relationships to continue providing services to veterans.
Acknowledgments
This project was supported by the VHA Office of Rural Health. The authors thank all ADRC, UDVMA, and VHA staff who participated in the project.
