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On The Record

Maryland veterans find comfort and care in VA medical foster homes

By Sheilah Kast,
Melissa Gerr
Published November 11, 2024 at 10:35 AM EST
From left: US Marine Corps and US Army veteran Robert Kundzman, caregiver Joanne West, and US Army 101st airborne veteran Ralph Stepney at Hawkins House. West runs the medical foster care home in northeast Baltimore. Photo: Melissa Gerr
1 of 3  — Kundzman, West, Stepney-M. Gerr.jpg
From left: US Marine Corps and US Army veteran Robert Kundzman, caregiver Joanne West, and US Army 101st airborne veteran Ralph Stepney at Hawkins House. West runs the medical foster care home in northeast Baltimore. Photo: Melissa Gerr
US Marine Corps and US Army veteran Robert Kundzman celebrates his 92nd birthday at Hawkins House, a VA medical foster care home in northeast Baltimore. Photo: Melissa Gerr
2 of 3  — Robert Kundzman 2-M. Gerr.jpg
US Marine Corps and US Army veteran Robert Kundzman celebrates his 92nd birthday at Hawkins House, a VA medical foster care home in northeast Baltimore. Photo: Melissa Gerr
US Army 101st airborne veteran Ralph Stepney lives at Hawkins House, a VA medical foster care home in northeast Baltimore. Photo: Melissa Gerr
3 of 3  — Ralph Stepney-M. Gerr.jpg
US Army 101st airborne veteran Ralph Stepney lives at Hawkins House, a VA medical foster care home in northeast Baltimore. Photo: Melissa Gerr

More than six million US military veterans are in their 70s, 80s and 90s. A program by the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System allows vets to age in place while receiving the care they need. We drop by a home in Baltimore County to pay a visit with Joanne West, who takes care of military veterans Robert Kundzman and Ralph Stepney, in her home, called the Hawkins House.

For more information about the VA medical foster home program, visit this link. If you're interested in being a caregiver, visit this link.

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On The Record WYPR ProgramsOn the RecordVeterans Dayveterans
Sheilah Kast
Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
See stories by Sheilah Kast
Melissa Gerr
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'
See stories by Melissa Gerr