Local Veteran is First to Receive One-of-a-Kind Care

Kenneth Gaddis is a Korean War veteran who recently found himself a new home, thanks to the help of the V.A. Medical Center of Dublin.

The V.A. Center started a program to put veterans into a foster home instead of a nursing home. The focus is to give veterans one-on-one care in a person’s house, rather than being just another patient in a nursing home.

 Kenneth Gaddis is the first middle Georgian to take advantage of this program.

Gaddis’ foster ‘family’, is Lisa Akins. She helps by helping Gaddis make his bed, cook his food, and take him to the store.

But Kenneth says he likes helping Lisa around the house, doing things just like he did when he was younger.

“Yeah, I like to help her if I can,” Gaddis says. “Do things that I used to…help bring in the groceries, something like that.”

But the V.A. Center needs more help from families for more veterans. According to a V.A. Center spokesman, veterans who are in the foster care program see better health results, because they typically get more attention and exercise.

And Lisa says Kenneth is not a patient, he’s a part of the family.

“We just hang out as a family,” she says. “He goes out with the family and hangs out with us. Like he’s a part of the family.”

If you are interested in becoming a foster family for a local veteran, or would like more information about the program, you can click here.