Volunteer Opportunity: Fairchild Retiree Affairs Office

The Fairchild AFB Retiree Activities Office is looking for volunteers.  

Military retiree volunteers, their spouses and survivors staff the RAO desk.

Our hours of operation are 0900 to 1400 hours Monday through Friday.  

Volunteers assist retirees with several actions including serving as an information center for space-available travel, TriCare and base services, offering referrals for financial assistance, pay matters, and providing literature on retirement issues.

You can volunteer for one day a month or as many days as you like. Working with your fellow retirees can be an enjoyable experience. It is a satisfying feeling knowing that you have helped a fellow retiree or survivor with their needs and problems. It is also great to get together and rub elbows with fellow retirees and their spouses all working together to help the local retired military community.

For additional information about volunteering stop by and check us out, call (509) 247-5359 or e-mail us.

Bldg. 2040, 7 W. Arnold St., Ste. C2A,

(509)247-5359

Hours: M-F 1000—1400

Email: rao.fairchild@us.af.mil

Volunteer Opportunity: Spokane Veterans Home

For volunteer opportunities, contact:

Spokane Veterans Home Spokane, WA

Activity Director: Jeanette Sauer-Smith 509-344-5788 JeanetteS@dva.wa.gov

Suggested Donated Items:

Art:

- Art Easels

Holiday:

- Decorations for different holidays

Furnishings:

- Folding chairs for our residents' rooms with cushions

- Clocks for residents rooms

- Aroma therapy oils and small machines to use with them

- Tablecloths 48 inch tables and longer

- Chairs for our dining rooms – cushion, arm rest, nice chairs

- Standing reading lights

Cooking & Baking:

- Coffee cups with lids and handles

- Bread mixes

- Cake mixes

- Cookie mixes

- Chocolate chips

Communications & Stationary:

- Stamps for residents to mail letters

- Envelopes

- Phone cards

- Flash Drives

Entertainment:

- Gift cards to Wal-Mart, Apple store & ITunes gift cards for Music and Memory program

- TV’s for resident rooms with wall mounts

- Headphones

- Bird feeders

Clothing

- Clothes from Big and Tall stores i.e.: need sizes 2x-5x that are the tall sizes,

- Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard baseball caps (ie: all branches)

- Diabetic shoes with traction that can be washed

- 4, 5 and 6 power reading glasses

- Eye shades for sleeping

Toiletries:

- Electric razors

- Disposable razors

- Body wash

Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act

Representative Clay Higgins introduced H.R. 1527. This would provide veterans who can no longer live independently an alternative to nursing home care. The veteran would continue to receive the care that they need in an intimate home-like environment through VA's Home-Based Primary Care program, and the Medical Foster Home (MFH) attendant program.

Started in 2000, VA Medical Foster Homes provide veterans who need nursing home level of care an alternative to being placed in a nursing home. VA Medical Foster Homes merge traditional adult foster care with comprehensive longitudinal care provided in the home by a VA interdisciplinary team that includes a physician, nurse, social worker, rehabilitation therapist, mental health provider, dietitian and pharmacist. Since its inception, over 4,000 veterans have resided in Medical Foster Homes.

However, many service-connected veterans who wish to reside in a VA Medical Foster Home are unable to do so because of substantial out-ofpocket costs of approximately $1,500 to $3,000 per month. Because VA does not have the authority to cover these costs, veterans are placed in nursing homes which VA pays for but cost more than twice as much.

As the veteran population continues to age, the need for long-term care services will continue to grow. Home-based community programs like MFHs will enable VA to meet the needs of aging veterans in a manner closer to independent living than institutionalized care. With the passage of this bill, veterans would have the option of care that more closely aligns with their independence while maintaining their quality of life.

(This bill is in accordance with Disabled American Veterans Resolution No. 085, which calls for legislation to improve the comprehensive program of long-term services and supports for service-connected disabled veterans regardless of their disability ratings).