Thomas' Story: Navy Veteran and Wife Benefit from Vet Group Generosity
When U.S. Navy veteran Thomas Powner's health failed about five years ago, his wife, Linda, cared for him at their home in Hamilton.
As he became sicker with heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his wife, a 64-year-old retired school counselor, found her own health in jeopardy from the demands of caring for her husband of 26 years.
So Tom, 82, and a retired industrial arts teacher from Hightstown High School, went to live at Care One Mercer, an assisted-living facility where he receives excellent care. Linda visits daily and receives frequent updates about his condition.
About seven weeks ago, Linda learned Thomas was eligible for additional care through a program for veterans and their spouses coping with terminal illness.
Disabled American Veterans Post No. 41 established a $30,000 grant for care through Samaritan Hospice.
The program… establishes funding for patient care through Samaritan Hospice to veterans or their spouses who are terminally ill. The program provides additional care beyond what the patient is eligible for from other programs, including Medicare, Medicaid or the Veterans Administration.
Veterans residing in Mercer County are eligible as well as members of the Post No. 41, even if they have left the area.
"There is no greater cause than to give veterans dignity at the hour of their death," said Mercer County Freeholder Pasquale "Pat" Colavita at a ceremony officially launching the program on April 20.
Samaritan provides care regardless of ability to pay as long as the patient is appropriate for hospice care, meaning his or her doctor believes the patient will live six more months or less under normal conditions and the family is willing to abandon curative care in favor of palliative care, meaning control of pain in hopes of preserving the best quality of life, Paprocki said.
The funding, realized from the sale of the post's headquarters, will generally pay for home-health aides to provide assistance with the patient, including bathing, dressing, feeding, light housekeeping and cooking whether the patient is at home, in a nursing home or some other setting, said Carol Paprocki, public relations manager for Samaritan Hospice.
"The veterans could have done something else with the money, like buy another building, but they wanted to do something meaningful for veterans like themselves," Paprocki said. "That's the beauty of the gift."
The grant also will pay for respite care, which is the term for staying with the ill patient so the spouse can have a break from the physical and emotional strain of caring for a very ill spouse, Paprocki said.
…With hospice care, the focus moves away from curing the disease and instead emphasizes pain management and giving the patient the highest quality of life possible with massage therapy, aroma therapy, music therapy and pet therapy, when appropriate, Paprocki said.
"It's very difficult to watch a loved one fail, and it affects you physically, emotionally and spiritually," she said. "Samaritan has been a godsend."
Excerpted from: The (Trenton) Times, April 27, 2010
DAV post establishes $30G grant for care of terminally ill vets in Mercer County
by Chris Sturgis