Three Things You Can Do If Your Veteran Father Refuses Home Care

Your father is a veteran. For most of your life he always seemed strong, independent, and even larger-than-life at times. Even as an adult yourself you always looked up to your father, but recently he’s been struggling with even the most basic tasks around the house.

He’s having trouble cooking, keeping the house clean, and even doing basic maintenance to make sure the house doesn’t literally fall down around him. You have been helping him as best you can, but you don’t live that close by. In fact, it’s an hour drive, at least, for you to visit with him. He needs help every day. He needs help in the morning, afternoon, and at night.

You have tried to talk about home care services with him, but he hasn’t listened. He’s basically shut you down every time you bring it up. Here are a few things you might be able to do if your father continues refusing to even consider home care services.

Find out why.

There is probably a good reason why he doesn’t even want to consider hiring a home care aide. He may overestimate his physical capabilities. He may underestimate the safety hazards that exist all around him now. He may have certain misconceptions about what home care services offers, the cost, and other factors.

When you have a better understanding about why he is refusing this type of care, it can provide you a better footing to discuss it again in the future.

Talk about his finances.

He might be thinking home care is just too much money. After all, he’s on an extremely limited income with a pension and his Social Security. If he’s concerned about that and is considered a wartime veteran, he may qualify for the Aid and Attendance Benefit.

Learn as much as you can about this particular pension. You may be completely surprised at how beneficial it could be to help your father get the support he needs at home.

Explain what he could be doing with proper support.

Your father might spend most of his days alone, waiting for you to stop by. Wouldn’t he rather be pursuing certain activities, spending time with friends, or doing other things? When you get him thinking about all of those things he could still be doing, if he only had the right support at the right time, he may begin to open up to the prospect of relying on home care support services.

Our VetAssist® Program can help you apply for the VA’s Aid and Attendance benefit and access the home care you need. For more information and to learn about The VetAssist Program, contact Veteran’s Home Care at (888) 314-6075.