Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

This is a special presentation of Answers for Elders with Careage and welcome back to the program everyone. I am so excited because we have a wonderful sponsor of the Answers for Elders radio show and that is Careage. And one of the things that’s really unique about Careage is that they do a lot of programs for veterans and I have Mr Greg Mundell here from Patriots Landing and Greg and I are going to have a conversation about veterans. Greg, welcome to the program thank you for having me. Greg. Before we start, you and I’ve had a little bit of a conversation and in advance and you shared with me about your background and social work. Tells me about little bit about your journey and how you ended up at Patriots Landing. So I have actually in college. My background is psychology. I didn’t want to be a social worker. There was a distinct separation between psych and psychology social work. Right after I got out of college, I managed I went into human resources retail, just out of necessity, right and truly the job I came into a skilled nursing facility. Social worker position right fell into my lap. I knew a DSHS case manager and and he brought me an application. You know, I know more people that have gotten into our industry and it’s like, once you get into working with seniors, we just don’t leave. It’s there’s something there is pulls at your heart and I’m sure you can relate to that. That’s right. That’s right, and and and it’s a personality piece. It’s a once you’re in, you can’t stop. Yes, if very much that they pull you in very, very much self. So obviously I want to talk about veterans and Patriots Landing. Just the name, you know, it’s very patriotic. But one of the things I know about your community is your your sense, as so your population, that people that live there resonance. There’s a huge majority of them that are veterans. Right. Tell me a little bit about what makes that unique. You know, I think it you have to go back to how patriots landing came to be. That is our the owner of the company, Gene Lynn, who was prior military, was flying above the area and got to thinking there is not a retirement community that focuses toward retired the veteran regulation, and he wanted to do something about that. He wanted an area, a forum to take care of our retired men and women who served. And so, because we’re right outside of joint Basalis McCord right, there was this phenomenal piece of property he found and it just it truly sits right outside the gate. Is so beautiful. I have been there. It’s been a while but but you know, I was telling your CEO, Ken Farmer, about how impressive just your company is as far as the commitment that you have to those that have served our country. And you know there’s really unique needs to those that are veterans. I’m sure with with old war injuries that that obviously are more pronounced as they’re older, and I’m sure you can share a little bit about that. But I’m sure that there’s a lot of, I guess, Camaraderie or emotional importance that they do have a place that they can all be together. That’s right. The veteran population is definitely unique. They certainly enjoy spending time with each other. It takes a long time for them to let you in. You have to be really patient and understanding. You have to learn their culture. I’ve been surrounded as a somebody who grew up in Puget Sound by various military branches. Sure, but it’s interesting diving into their community. They they’re pretty skeptical and that’s because they’re so tight knit. It’s interesting they allow other other retirees who hearing the community in much faster than staff. They’re more skeptical this staff. But once you acknowledge their service, once you acknowledge an interest in that service to our country, there’s the beginning. Well, and those of us who have not served, we have no clue what they that what they dealt with, and to have that touch point of being there where they have shared experiences and that they can relate to the long term stories which in many cases, if there’s any sort of memory issues, that you know you remember what happened fifty years ago, but you don’t necessarily remember what happened ten minutes ago, and so that that piece of their life becomes very, very pronounced and have that kind of support network to me is just amazing. It’s interesting on a day to day basis to to come into contact with a resident who may not communicate regularly, sure who doesn’t remember that you are just in with them five minutes before. Yeah, but if you ask them about their service, if you ask them about the ship that they served on, that they sailed on, if you ask them about being deployed, friends that they made, friends that they lost, they can tell you such specifics and it’s it’s right now, it’s fresh, it’s it is not lost to them. They I have one gentleman in the in particular. He’s now long no longer living at our facility, but he would not communicate very much. But if I asked him to tell me about the ship that he’s that he last served on, sure he could tell me. He would walk me through, he would give me this virtual tour and he could tell me about the war and how it affected him, where he was standing when the bombs hit his ship, where his friends were trying to find them. Those stories, it’s amazing. He would light up and and while those were sad stories, he was so excited to share it. And so that’s I’m so fortunate to be able to work in the community where we do have such a high number of veterans. Right you know, and obviously you guys go above and beyond to not only be there a community that is a wonderful place for veterans to retire and live the out there aging years. But tell me about like what do you guys do to make them feel at home, like they’re they’re part of a community? I think it’s darts. You have the esthetics piece. The minute I walked in the door. You feel it. You feel the presentation of the flags. Yes, the commemorating the branches of the military, with the United States flag proud and prominent, and that’s also it’s very funny. If it’s even slightly off, they will let you know. But the the memorabilia. They’re so proud to share their military uniforms of they’ll randomly come to the front desk and they’ll want to is there something you can do with this flag from so and so who passed away. This was presented at their memorial. Can you use my uniform? Can you use a picture of me as I served? So you have that esthetic. We bring groups in. It’s real fun to be able to bring in the organization. Absolutely and you know, I’m sure with being close to Jblm like you are, there’s a lot of opportunities to really bridge with a lot of the things that are going on in that community that connects them to the roots of their service. Probably probably the most fascinating part of my job is watching, because we have so many of the of the troops who will volunteer, so many of the different organizations on base will come, and to see the the interaction of the men and women currently serving right the admiration they have for the veterans, the respect they show them. They fall right back in line. It’s just it’s beautiful right. And so, by the way, everyone, we are talking to Greg Mandel from carriage and he is here. We are tire talking about veterans and how the veterans that they serve. Now, Greg, how do you continue to honor your residents? As far as I know that when you walk in, that’s really the esthetics part. But they’re has to be, I’m sure, like yesterday was the anniversary of d day and I’m sure you guys probably there’s there’s a special recognition of those kinds of anniversaries. Is it? Am I correct? It is it. I was talking with my executive director and we were we were discussing how it’s really a somber time. We just went through Memorial Day. Sure, big, big celebration I guess you would say a Veterans Day right, but it is. It’s very somber. It’s respecting those feelings that they have, those that survived their stories of that could have been me. For Memorial Day, absolutely, we’re recognizing the loss of these people that could easily have been me. So so respecting those traditions, the ceremonies again, the recognition of office, what they’re you know if they were officers, recognizing those positions. That’s all part of that culture. That is unique, right, the veterans and and it’s it’s important if you call them Mr. or Mrs. or by their first name, the respond and they’ll be respectful, right, but the response you get from them when you call them by their rank. Wow, the military wives, those are there equally when you recognize the service of their their spouses. It’s just it’s phenomenal. You know, that’s really interesting story because my mom actually her significant other when she was alive. He was a retired, retired colonel from the Marines and they could they lived in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and they would go down to the Patrick Air Force Base Officers Club and you know right away, boy, he was colonel from the time that he walked in until the day he died, and there was you know, and that is I love that about the culture that we continue to honor them and that their places out there. Like you, but you know, so many of us have families out there that you know. I know that there’s a lot of my compatriots out there that say, Oh, yeah, Dad was in the war, my father was a veteran or World War II or something like that, and they may not share their stories with their kids, they may not share their stories with their coworkers as they were growing up, but then when they get together with people that they’ve served with, it’s a whole new level of, you know, understanding that they probably will be so grateful for. It’s have a place like that. It is it’s interesting. They’re very private about some of these the circumstances, but you’re right join a meal, any of the meals at and you hear the stories and that’s how you kind of sneak your way in right they’ll you just quietly sit off to the side and you hear that camaraderie they start. So many of them have served together, which is fascinating to me. Small world, but it is. It’s setting up this forum for these people to continue to share their own legacy, as well as those who have gone before them and obviously those who that are served. They put their bodies through a lot and so I’m I’m assuming, I just that you’ve got up more of a pronouncement of you know, they’ve had headed injuries, they’ve had concussions, just like NFL players, and so you probably have a great population that has memory issues, dementia, Alzheimer’s. Does that affect your population to and something that’s very interesting is the fact that now so many of these the behaviors associated with dementia and memory care with especially those who served, we’re now looking at PTSD. We look at that with the AGIN and work. Absolutely, but we don’t. We didn’t think of that prior. Well, Greg we’re really glad to have you on the program. How do we reach you? You can reach me at [email protected] or call down to Patriots Landing at two fifty three nine six, four nine zero zero, and I am happy to answer any questions. Thank you so much for being on the program. Thank you. This has been a special presentation of Answers for Elders with Careage. For more information for Careage, go to Careage.com. That’s Careage.com.