VA Pittsburgh Health Care now provides adult day health care to eligible veterans at select American Legion and VFW posts.
According to a VA release, a ribbon cutting was recently held at the Mars VFW Post 7505 in Butler to officially launch its new Adult Day Health Care Mobile Veteran Program.
The program provides veterans with the chance to socialize and participate in various physical activities at American Legion and VFW posts near their homes. Pittsburgh VA employees work with each veteran and their caregiver to develop individualized care plans.
Pittsburgh VA provided adult day health care on-site at its campus in O’Hara township prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. VFW and American Legion Veterans Service Organizations host the program in their facilities on a rotating basis under the new mobile format.
The program is currently available at locations in Mars, Natrona Heights, West View, Carnegie and New Kensington. More sites are expected to be added in the future.
Army Special Forces veteran Vincent Sommariva attended the ribbon cutting. He said having the program close to veterans’ homes makes it easier for them to participate and learn about services provided by VA.
Related
“When it comes to VA, there’s a lot of opportunities that aren’t recognized by veterans because they don’t know what’s available to them,” he said.
Mars VFW Commander Russell Christiana, an Army sergeant major with 39 years of military service, spoke about the importance of veterans having a place to visit to socialize with their peers.
“That interaction really helps,” he said. “We have veterans who don’t talk a lot and this gives them the opportunity to interact.”
Mars VFW will host the program once each week. Christiana said he’s optimistic that having the program at the Mars VFW will attract more veterans, especially younger ones, to join VFW.
Veterans must be enrolled in VA health care to participate in the program.
Learn more about the Adult Day Health Care Mobile Veteran Program here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
Related
