These stories are fictional, but are based on real Veterans' experiences.
Mr. Peterson is a 67 year old Vietnam Veteran who served in the Army and recently had a stroke.
- He has some leg weakness and is currently in a rehabilitation facility.
- It was his first stroke, so he was put on blood thinning medicine.
- Although he will be discharged soon, it is not clear to what extent his leg will regain its strength.
- He is eager to return home where he lives alone.
- He is concerned he won't be able to manage everything by himself.
Mr. Peterson's support system:
- He rarely sees his neighbors socially.
- He is used to being independent and has not relied on help from others before.
- His son lives 2 hours away and usually visits 3 times a month.
- His son is concerned about his father's ability to live alone.
VA helped Mr. Peterson get the support he needed to be as independent as possible. His social worker suggested he look at the online Guide to Long Term care and gave him a copy of the Shared Decision Making Worksheet and suggested that he and his son complete it as a first step to making decisions about long term care.
These stories are fictional, but are based on real Veterans' experiences.
Mr. Peterson and his son took a quick look at the Guide to Long Term Care on the son's laptop computer, and they saw the section on Shared Decision Making. They decided to complete the Shared Decision Making Worksheet together. It helped them take stock of their situation. The first section of the Worksheet asked about Mr. Peterson's needs.
These stories are fictional, but are based on real Veterans' experiences.
Mr. Peterson and his son didn't know a lot about long term care services he could receive at home. Together they looked more carefully at the Guide to Long Term Care to learn more about different types of services. In Step 2 Mr. Peterson checked all the long term care services and settings he was willing to consider. Then he wrote a list of things about his health and living situation that are important to him when he thinks about his future. His son reminded him to add notes about a couple of things he'd forgotten.
These stories are fictional, but are based on real Veterans' experiences.
Mr. Peterson knew about some time limitations due to his son’s job, so he asked him to fill out the Caregiver Self-Assessment in the Shared Decision Making section of the Guide to Long Term Care. He wanted to be sure that his son thought about how he could and could not help. He doesn’t want his son to feel guilty. Instead, he wants him to be realistic. And, he wants to retain the solid father-son relationship that they have enjoyed for years.
Mr. Peterson also wanted to hear his doctor’s opinion about his desire to return home with some help. After meeting with the doctor he felt more confident that everything in his recovery was pointing toward a “green light” for thinking about options that would work in his home.
Mr. Peterson knew that his physical therapist thought he should not be walking up and down steps until he gained more strength in his legs. He decided to talk with his physical therapist to learn more about her concerns about his leg weakness. After Mr. Peterson involved others he completed Step 3 on the Worksheet.
These stories are fictional, but are based on real Veterans' experiences.
Mr. Peterson's preferred options are having a Homemaker/Home Health Aide help him get in and out of the tub and getting Skilled Home Health Care services to provide the physical therapy he needs.
He thought that as long as he continued to gain strength in his legs, and is very careful on stairs until then, everyone would agree with his choices – his son, doctor, physical therapist, and social worker.
Mr. Peterson reviewed his needs, thought about what was most important to him, learned more about his options for long term care, and thought about his support system. He and his son planned what to do next in Step 4.
- Mr. Peterson will talk with one of his poker friends to learn more about his experience in a rehabilitation center and what support he needed when he returned home.
- They will look at the online Guide to Long Term Care and check out the Helpful Websites to locate community services.
- They will talk with the physical therapist again and ask if she can support his returning home now if he is very careful about steps and does his physical therapy exercises regularly.
- They will set up a time to meet again with the social worker and ask some remaining questions about transportation options and services VA offers.
2 weeks later: After talking with his social worker, Mr. Peterson decided that he wanted to return home with both Homemaker/Home Health Aide and Skilled Home Health Care services. He and his son agreed that returning home would be a trial arrangement. Mr. Peterson knows that he can change his decision in the months ahead if he needs to. His goal was to make the best shared decision for his current needs and preferences.
