Receiving VA care from home via telehealth

How VA virtual care helps a Long Island Veteran stay active, healthy, and independent

A Long Island Veteran who served in the Army during the late 1960’s has spent the past several decades navigating serious health challenges. VA’s telehealth care options have transformed the way he manages his care.

“I had two strokes when I was 47,” he said. “Ever since then, all my care has been done through VA.”

Over the years, traveling to medical appointments became harder, but through VA’s virtual care resources, he now receives most of his care from home, where he’s most comfortable.

“Going back and forth [to appointments] was quite an effort—driving, parking, getting into the hospital,” he said. “Learning there was a home care option changed everything.”

Getting comfortable with technology

Like many Veterans, he wasn’t sure about using new technology. He jokingly considers himself electronically challenged—he doesn’t own a computer or cell phone. But his VA care team provided him with a tablet through the Digital Divide Consult to connect him with VA virtual care resources.

“They got me set up and showed me how to use it,” he said. “Now I use it every week. Nothing challenges me anymore.”

Through VA Video Connect, VA’s secure videoconferencing app, and the VA Health Chat mobile app, he stays in touch with VA staff from home, avoiding unnecessary travel.

“It’s made things easier not just for me, but for my wife, too,” he said.

He also received adaptive equipment through VA’s Home-Based Primary Care program, including a chair lift for his stairs. “It’s the best thing in the world. I can get up and down without worrying,” he said.

Moving more with virtual chair yoga

The Long Island Veteran has also joined some virtual chair yoga classes offered at no cost through VA’s partnership with Veteran’s Yoga Project. He appreciates the easy pace at which they are taught, and he’s noticed real health benefits.

“I was a mouth breather,” he explained. “Now they’ve taught me to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. It’s very helpful.”

Looking back, he credits VA programs for helping him stay active and independent.

“Without the support I get from VA, I don’t know where I’d be,” he said. “Everyone has been very good to me. I’m lucky.”

To learn more about telehealth at VA, visit the VA Telehealth Services website.