National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
OCE Partnership Impact
Video series helps caregivers of Veterans with dementia cope with challenges
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) are invested in the well-being of Veteran caregivers as well as Veterans and their families and survivors. According to the VA Caregiver Support program, VA caregivers are those who help Veterans with tasks such as driving to medical appointments, getting dressed or taking medication, or cooking and housework.
Caregivers need support, too—VA has many resources for caregivers that support their self-care, because looking after someone else’s health and well-being is often stressful. VA offers a number of resources and programs specifically for caregivers, including education on how to best support the Veterans in their lives. VHA’s Office of Rural Health (ORH) hosts a “Caregivers Video Series” that helps educate and aid caregivers of Veterans who are diagnosed with dementia specifically. ORH partnered with VHA’s Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center and VA’s Caregiver Support Program to create the video series.
Viewers can watch the series online to learn about topics such as improving communication, assessing safety risks, and preventing financial mismanagement on the part of Veterans who experience memory or language problems because of dementia. Caregivers also help with toileting, taking over finances, and all activities that keep the person diagnosed with dementia safe. The videos also highlight the benefits of attending a caregiver support group.
“The Office of Rural Health recognizes that 32% of all Veterans enrolled in VA health care have a diagnosis of dementia and are living in rural or highly rural communities. The lack of supportive services in rural communities often places caregivers as the sole provider of non-institutional care for rural Veterans,” said Mr. Christopher Turner, program specialist for the Veterans Rural Health Research Center in the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. “The video series is an opportunity for caregivers to learn skills on how to deal with some of the more common problem behaviors associated with dementia. This will help caregivers provide better care for their loved one and reduce the stress that often occurs with caregiving.”
VHA’s Office of Community Engagement (OCE) is also invested in partnerships and activities that support Veteran caregivers and caregiver respite. OCE works alongside ORH to support programs such as the national Veteran Community Partnership (VCP) initiative and OCE is the lead for VA’s interagency agreement with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that leads national volunteer and service efforts. This collaboration helps provide homemaker and in-home respite care services to eligible Veterans and their caregivers. CNCS respite care volunteers temporarily relieve caregivers of their duties so that they can rest, run errands, or attend to other needs outside of the home.
“We recognize the level of emotions, time, and energy required of being a caregiver for a Veteran and know that caregivers need to take care of themselves, too,” said Dr. Tracy L. Weistreich, nurse executive for OCE. “Self-care involves taking time to rest and accessing resources, including education. These videos provide increased awareness of ways in which dementia progresses, presents, and can be addressed, helping caregivers feel informed, empowered, and energized as they support the Veteran in their lives.”
For more on ORH’s work, please visit: ruralhealth.va.gov.
For more on OCE’s work, please visit: va.gov/healthpartnerships.
External Link Disclaimer: This page contains links that will take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked websites.
Posted September 10, 2020
