Air Guardsmen help at Veterans Homes

Photo By Jason Kriess | Air Force Capt. Geneva Hoskins-Dorsey, 194th Medical Group, Washington Air National Guard, poses for a photo at the Veterans Home in Port Orchard, Washington, March 9, 2022. Hoskins-Dorsey was the officer in charge of the Port Orchard facility as members of her team helped alleviate stress of Veterans Homes employees by answering resident call lights, answering non-clinical requests, performing COVID screenings, among many other duties. (U.S. National Guard photo by Jason Kriess)  

PORT ORCHARD, WA, UNITED STATES

03.16.2022

Story by Joseph Siemandel  

Joint Force Headquarters - Washington National Guard

While restrictions and guidelines begin to ease following the latest surge of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the Washington National Guard continues to provide support to citizens of Washington that are still in need. Recently a team from the Washington National Guard spent two weeks helping residents and staff at the Washington Veterans Home in Port Orchard, Washington Soldiers Home in Orting, and Spokane Veterans Home.

Washington National Guard members helped alleviate stress of Veterans Homes employees by answering resident call lights, answering non-clinical requests, performing COVID screenings, among many other duties.

Capt. Geneva Hoskins-Dorsey, the officer in charge at the Port Orchard facility and a nurse practitioner in the 194th Medical Group, has worked at several nursing homes throughout her medical career, but never at a facility run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“It’s just a different feeling here,” she said. “You can feel the camaraderie among the residents and the staff.”

Airman 1st Class Mckenzie Airhart spent most of his time at the VA home helping the human resources department with filing away paperwork from patient’s and employee’s records.

“Just the presence of the uniform and what that means really psyches up the residents, especially veterans,” Airhart said. “It makes them happy to see other people in uniform.”

Despite the generational gap between Hoskins-Dorsey and her team and the veteran service members who live there, she can’t help but feel a certain connection with them because of their shared history.

“We have a lot in common. These are vets who have served years and years before us but we have had similar experiences. We’ve been to the same states – same bases,” she said.

Members of the Guard are also supporting the Department of Corrections with similar tasks at several facilities across the state. The support to Veterans Affairs and Corrections comes after completing a mission to support eight hospitals across the state with COVID testing, non-clinical support and administrative assistance.

The time spent at the VA home may have been relatively short compared to other recent missions, but this assignment has been impactful for those who helped fulfill it.

“There’s a lot of commonalities that we can bond over, and I have bonded with a lot of the residents here,” Hoskins-Dorsey said. “It’s been an experience that I’ll never forget.”

• Date Taken: 03.16.2022
• Date Posted: 03.16.2022 14:44
• Story ID: 416577
• Location: PORT ORCHARD, WA, US