Fostering Excellence: An Examination of High-Enrollment VHA Medical Foster Home Programs

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to assist the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to efficiently target recruitment into VHA Medical Foster Homes (MFHs) by understanding how high-enrollment MFH (HE-MFH) program attributes optimized MFH enrollment. We used an emergent exploratory design to study 3 HE-MFH programs across the United States. Data were collected from August 2013 through June 2014 through individual in-person and phone interviews and in-person focus group discussions with 39 MFH care providers. Three main themes emerged as essential for optimizing HE-MFH program enrollment: (1) alignment of right caregiver, right home, and right Veteran; (2) care practices that support caregiver, Veteran, and home-based primary care (HBPC); and (3) workplace practices and processes that demonstrate support of the MFH coordinator role by facility leadership and the HBPC team.