Please take this opportunity to view a 5-minute tour of the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) website, www.va.gov/geriatrics.  This tour provides a practical overview of what the website offers aging Veterans, their families, and the clinicians and staff who serve them.  

Here are some of the most important topics covered in the tour:

Shared Decision Making            

Your first stop will be to learn about the process for making collaborative, patient-directed decisions based on the goals and priorities of the Veteran. This process is called shared decision making and involves the Veteran, their caregiver, the care team and a social worker.

Common topics for which shared decision making is used include choices about:

  • Long term services and supports, which support Veterans in remaining independent – which is what most older people want, and
  • Advance care planning, which involves choosing someone to make the Veteran’s wishes known if the Veteran is no longer able to do so.

You will also be introduced to decision aid Worksheets – tools to help guide the Veteran and their family through the shared decision making process.

Long Term Services and Supports          

The website tour also acquaints you with comprehensive descriptions, including short videos, to ensure everyone has information about all types of long term services and supports including:

  • Home and Community Based Services –such as Homemaker Home Health Aides and Respite Care. These services help chronically ill or disabled Veterans of any age remain in their homes.
  • Residential Settings – such as medical foster homes, adult family homes and assisted living; and
  • Nursing Homes – including VA community living centers, community nursing homes and State Veterans Homes.

More Information and Support for Veterans                

You will be introduced to information on other topics of value to our aging Veterans including advance care planning, paying for long-term care, wellbeing and links to websites to help you locate services and resources.

And, the tour will show you how to click and print any of the tools or information on the website.

And More Information for Staff

Last, there is also a brief overview of resources for staff, including news about the Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care, and some of the programs it hosts including the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs), and the Geriatric and Extended Care Data Analysis Center (GECDAC).

ENJOY THE TOUR!

Message from: VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC)

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16 Comments

  1. bobby g. redman March 19, 2017 at 07:47

    read what is above

  2. bobby g. redman March 19, 2017 at 07:43

    i am 100 percent disabled an live in the philippines with trips to the usa for vacation. the office at manila takes care of mostly filipinos an as a foreigner we come last in the chain. we cant go to the hospital because they dont have one even though i had a mild stroke an i went to emergence room they would not pay for it even though i take four shots an four metformin a day for diabetis. i live in dumaguete philippines an i wish they would set us up a hospital to go to. manilla is a plane ridwe away an when i get there is no hospital for veterans. i go to the gym five days a week an i have my diabetis under control with the shots an pills but i worry i will have a stroke or heart attack. i am on heart medicine but no disability for it. i cant understand that. please help the veterans of the philippines. we nee it so bad. my last appointment took five months to get even though i called for my appointment before time. they say they have a big backup. i need to see doctors more often but they want pay no other doctors other than manilla.

  3. eddie berry March 19, 2017 at 00:39

    how do I get homecare

  4. Donald G Browning March 18, 2017 at 19:10

    I do not know what medication you were cut off from but the same thing happened to me when I was cut off of Testosterone hormone treatment after receiving treatment since it was determined in 1997 that I need medical injections of testosterone for hypogondadism which resulted from an ejection seat in 1966. They said I was off of my medicine because the rule now says that a PSA of over 4.00 was too high. Over the years my PSA level on average was 6.0. It took several trips and records from my private endocrinologist, heart doctor and trips to the urologist with my private records from civilians doctors to get back on my medication. Without my records from the private sector and help from Congressman Buchanan I would still be cut off from the VA for this treatment. The VA is not reading what the private sector is saying about PSA levels and aging. But maybe they want to lessen life saving medication to people like myself,and you who are 80 and older to lessen funding., Sorry thought.

  5. Mark Barrett March 18, 2017 at 09:44

    I served in the Navy for 23 years boots on the ground in Vietnam. I have a 40% disabiliity. Why did the VA take away my retirement when they acknowleged my service connected disability?

  6. Michele Easton March 17, 2017 at 16:39

    My husband, had a massive stroke in 2000, 43 years old at that time. Only 30%, disability he is getting. VA, TURNED him down. Going again, in September of 2017, i hear. What is going on? He served 25 years in AF.

  7. Randi Wheeler March 17, 2017 at 15:49

    I would like to understand why the VA doesn’t give help to Veterans with Alzheimer’s. My husband enlisted in the Army at 18 and served in Motor Pool in Germany for 3 years. He was discharged right before the war started in Viet Nam. Now he has Frontal Lobe Dementia and we really could use the benefits.

  8. Kevin M Davis March 17, 2017 at 14:48

    I have been waiting 3+ years for a right knee replacement. Did Q&A, Therapy, MRI’S and still nothing. I have another consult now in April. 24. Maybe this time I may have this taken care of at Philadelphia VAMC.
    CAN I pleasr be relieved of this pain?

  9. Stan Riedel March 17, 2017 at 13:30

    The VA takes away medicine, my pain medicine because a congressman said it was okay. VA doctors are happy to abide by his rule because it makes their lives easier. It has crippled me and probably many more veterans. I have never had a problem with what I was given to help me get things done and have some quality of life. Now like many others, I am warehoused, stuck in a recliner for the 2 years since they discontinued my meds because a non-medical congressman said so. I have gained 60 pounds and feel even worse from that. All the time that they pat themselves on the back for doing such a good job. They say it is from abuse, idiots dying from drugs that we all have to suffer 24/7. I say there must be a better way.

  10. Robin A Cox March 17, 2017 at 13:22

    Learning about the VA’s Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care is music to my ears.
    Personally, over the years I have developed such a deep passion for the Aging industry – so much so, that I intend to live the rest of my life by “Living on Purpose” to help them live a more enhanced and intensified quality of life.
    After spending 30 wonderful years working as an Information Technology Sales and Client Manager for IBM and Unisys Corporation, I am grateful for such an amazing career of having gained the invaluable knowledge and experience. In spite of, I have reached a pinnacle in my life where my soul is yearning for a sensational fulfillment that comes from “Servicing Others.” Having a daily lifestyle where I can live with a mission towards improving the social well-being; mind, body and soul of the aging community will be a dream come true. If you are in search of volunteers that can work in any capacity, please feel free to contact me With Gratitude, Robin A Cox

  11. Nathan Bickers March 17, 2017 at 13:14

    Over 3 months in the hospital in 1962 and they lost all of my records. Said they burned up in a warehouse fire in 1965

  12. Marvin Maddox March 17, 2017 at 12:34

    VA extension office, Dickinson,ND
    They are doing a great job!

  13. Sheila Anderson March 17, 2017 at 12:24

    I am a care giver for my husband. He is 85 and has had lung cancer that has returned and is on oxygen 24/7 for the last 5 years. My q uestion is can we qulify for aid and assistance ? Our income is $49000. a yr with no assets. Th ey said we need to spend down to $24000. Could this be correct? I need someone to help me from time to time as I have Mysthenia Gravis. I am on I VIG monthly. I can’t afford to pay a helper and wonder if VA could help. My husband served in Korean War.
    Thanks for any info Sheila

  14. Dennis Woodrich March 17, 2017 at 12:10

    I can think of at least a dozen old-timers who enjoy the care we receive from our VA. Two of my buddies are 97 this year. The best evidence for medication support is the pharmacy waiting area on any day. The average person there is not on the young side to be sure.
    A patient advocate, a social worker or a Chaplain might be the most productive course for you.

  15. Roy G Ashe March 15, 2017 at 08:33

    Why do the vA not want to take care of veterans that are 80 and older they cut off some of my medication the year I turned 80 said I was not qualified

    • Royal Hibbard March 19, 2017 at 02:04

      Roy; The best thing you could do is contact your primary doctor and ask why.This forum is not going to be able to help you. Check with one of the veterans organizations like Disabled American Veterans or American Legion for immediate action. Don’t forget to contact your congressman or senator. Be prepared to provide the documentation that you received from the VA cutting you off. Good luck.

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