Couple shares skills at medical foster home

After the couple bought the boarded-up house at the top of a hill in the city’s Shawnee area, she ran across an advertisement on Craigslist from the Veterans Administration for medical foster homes.

“It (the ad) said if you would like people in your home to call this number. I told Jeff, ‘I found it, I found it,’ ” Debora Katz recalled. “I told her (the VA representative), ‘I am it. I am who you want.’ ”

The couple learned the Dayton Veterans Administration had medical foster homes in Springfield and Richmond, Ind. The Dayton program started in April 2014, said Jessica Holderman, Dayton VA medical foster home coordinator.

Debora Katz is an RN and holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing, while Jeff Katz retired as a physical therapist.

“We loved our jobs taking care of people, but the way the system works now you can’t spend the time getting to know the people. We want people to come here and be part of the family,” Jeff Katz said.

Debora Katz has a binder filled with house rules and documentation required for the program, which also could provide for private pay residents needing similar individualized care. Grace Estate also has welcomed hospice patients during the two and one-half years since it opened.

Veterans Administration personnel, including a doctor, nurses and social worker visit the home regularly.

Grace Estate offers 24-7 nursing care; meals according to dietary orders and personal likes/dislikes; assistance with showers and full bed baths; and social activities such as a visit to a nearby mall or playing cards at the house. The couple added a large porch to the house with an area nearby for gardening.

Family visits are encouraged and residents interested are put on Facebook to keep in touch with family.

“I take people that would qualify for a nursing home but don’t want to go there. I enjoy taking care of people,” Debora Katz said. “One of the reasons why I really love doing this is I get to spend most of my time with my husband in my home. I can spend as much time as I need to with my residents and give them the care I need to.”

More information on medical foster care is available from Holderman at 937-268-6511, ext. 3604. More information on Grace Estate is available on the web, on Facebook, via email at grace.piqua@gmail.com or by calling 937-570-3008.