By Mel Rubenstein
Contributing Writer
Being a veteran, I have visited the Syracuse Veterans Administration Medical Center for a number of years for regular check-ups, blood tests and a problem I have with hearing loss. As an outpatient I was surprised to find out that there are 51 departments that provide all types of medical care and services at the facility. Then, while listening to a guest speaker at a Dewitt Rotary meeting I heard about a service that is done outside of the facility, right in the Veterans’ homes. The speaker was Lisa Gualtieri, who is the Home Respite Coordinator for the medical center. Her presentation was eye opening as she explained that in-home respite care is done by volunteers who provide companionship to veterans in their homes while their (family) caregiver has some needed “respite” from their 24/7 duties. When the meeting was over I asked Gualtieri if she would like to recommend one of those volunteers to be featured in my Volunteer of the Month Column in the Eagle Bulletin. She smiled and said, “Of course, and her name is Kay who lives in East Syracuse.”
Kay Riddlemoser was raised in a family from Sherburne, New York that included six brothers and two sisters. She went on to attend Niagara University for two years before transferring to Le Moyne College where she majored in English. After college Kay was motivated to join the Navy. That motivation was, in no small part, due to her father serving in the Army in WWII, for which he received the Silver Star after being wounded while fighting in Leyte in the Pacific. While Kay served in the Navy in 1974 she was stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii where she met her husband. Kay took advantage of an educational program in Pearl Harbor sponsored by Pepperdine University and earned her Masters in education. Kay then followed her husband to a Naval Station in Dam Neck, Virginia where she took courses in computer science, specializing in computer programming.
“That was back in 1978 when we used those ‘punch cards’ to compute with,” she said. Kay put that computer knowledge to use when she left the Navy and moved to Syracuse to work for the Carrier Corporation.
Like thousands of other veterans in the Central New York area, Kay Riddlemoser began to visit the Syracuse VA Medical Center for her health care. It didn’t take long to see that there were many volunteer opportunities to help veterans, and once she heard about the respite in-home care program she knew that was what she wanted to do.
The In-Home Respite Caregiver Support Program has been a pilot program since 2009 and has grown to 12 sites around the country. Locally, since 2009, this program has served over 300 veterans and their families, and has had over 65 volunteers who have supplied almost 12,000 volunteer hours to veterans. On average, 25 to 30 veterans are served each month, yet there are about 30 each month that are waiting for a volunteer match.
Respite care services provides companionship to veterans in their home while the caregiver, usually a family member, has some needed time off from their caregiving duties. The respite care volunteer is asked to provides this “worry free time away” for the caregiver for two to four hours, once per week. This time allows the caregiver the time to help renew their energy and spirit.
Kay Riddlemoser and all the respite volunteers spend time in the home engaging the Veteran in simple activities like playing cards, taking walks, watching TV, or just talking and reminiscing. Lisa Gualtieri, the VA Home Respite Coordinator, tries to match people up who have similar interests and are conveniently located to each other. Kay’s first client in 2014 lived in East Syracuse, just a 10 minute drive from her home. He was a WWII Veteran whose wife was the caregiver. This veteran was wounded and a POW in Germany. He was now beginning to have dementia due to aging, but Kay was still able to watch TV. and talk with him. He was responsive to the conversation.
Kay volunteers as an in-home respite care provider one or two times a week during the year. She has had three of the families for long term, up to three years. “I really got to know the families, and have remained friends with many of them.”
Riddlemoser said, “I think people should consider becoming an in-home respite care volunteer because it gets you out into the community and you meet people who really appreciate what you are doing. And, when you come back from each of your in-home visits you feel good and do not expect anything in return.” Kay stressed, “You don’t need to be a veteran to volunteer.”
Gualtieri explaines; “Besides the Syracuse area, our catchment is large; from Massena to Utica to Auburn and to Binghamton. There are so many stories from families who have appreciated this service. Some just for peace of mind that their veteran has someone to socialize with on a weekly basis, others appreciate the ability to get some time to run errands or attend their own doctors’ appointments, still others appreciate that the VA has taken a personal interest in their lives to enhance their caregiving, as well as the veterans health and well-being.”
Lisa Gualtieri says there is a need for volunteers, and emphasizes that volunteering in the community where you live and helping veterans and their families in the community is a rewarding experience.
Kay Riddlemoser lives in East Syracuse and enjoys reading, gardening and traveling to England and Scotland.
For information about volunteering for In-Home Respite Care contact Lisa Gualtieri at 315-425-4315 or e-mail [email protected]
To recommend someone with a stellar record of volunteering to be featured in this column contact Mel Rubenstein at 315-682-7162 or [email protected].
