moi621 (imported) wrote: Thu Aug 14, 2014 8:59 pm
My Mexicans are not paid on the same scale as nurses, trained & certified attendants
nor working for an agency that skims cream from their labor.
And they train up on checking blood sugar and insulin with ease. Responsibly.
Culturally they have a tradition of in home care of their elderly so they seem to grasp it culturally or innately.
Moi
I understand. I just couldn't do it. I wish it were possible.
The care I needed w
moi621 (imported) wrote: Thu Aug 14, 2014 8:59 pm
as nurses, trained & certified attendants.
Even if my Brother and his wife spent the night (literally moved into my Mom's house and lived there) They both work so I would have had to cover 12 hours a day at $20 an hour - that was $7200 a month. Plus I would have had to make schedules, keep hours, pay taxes, payroll, and become a tiny business.
The best of the nursing homes that handled dementia patients cost that much and they gave me the peace of mind that I needed.
I am very glad that the nursing home my mother-in-law was in for seven years was an outstanding one. Of course, she was in complete controlof her faculties (very aware). She would beat us playing cards every time...even at age 97. She had a lliving will so the staff know what they could and could not do and with two daughters just a phone call away, there were no problems. Actually, she was so aware of things that it was usually she that told the staff she felt she sholkd go to the hospital wne she felt something was wrong. AND, while getting her ready, one of the daughters was called so tshe could be at the hospital to check things out. Although staffing is a problem in many places, the dedication of the existing staff is important to the well being of the patients (residents).. When she went downhill, it was very fast and the day my sister-in-law got her mother to agree to hospice, was also the evening she died. Fast? About 3 days from being aware to being gone. I will say that many of the staff felt that she was their grandma she was sol loved by them.
Profits should never be involved in nursing home care. As was mentioned here, it interferes with the well-being of both the patients and the employees..They should be non-profit...and run by people who care about the outcome of the patients, NOT the outcome of the profits.Jackie
I also never complained about the care givers. I actually thought they did a pretty good job. Since only doctors can write prescriptions, the fault here lies directly with the medical profession. I still cannot understand how you can intake someone for physical therapy and then sedate them to where that is impossible.
Moi, we are on top of it to help all of us really need to be gone for one reason or another. It works. Especially if you use Hispanic caregivers you know on their off time.
Jackie. I agree in principal. In reality .....
When you think about this, it really raises some uncomfortable issues. For example, most people who have been thru caring for a parent with a degenerative disease swear they will not do that to their kids. So they buy elderly care insurance. Aside from the possibility of the company going belly up when it is your time, you have to think about what your insurance will pay for? Sedation? Semi-isolation? Insurance is only half the equation. Do you really want to get into the other half?
Many people end up with their home being their main asset. You sell your house and how much care does that buy you? 4 - 5 years. And then what do you do?
Arab Nights (imported) wrote: Sun Aug 17, 2014 7:56 pm
I also never complained about the care givers. I actually thought they did a pretty good job. Since only doctors can write prescriptions, the fault here lies directly with the medical profession. I still cannot understand how you can intake someone for physical therapy and then sedate them to where that is impossible.
Moi, we are on top of it to help all of us really need to be gone for one reason or another. It works. Especially if you use Hispanic caregivers you know on their off time.
Jackie. I agree in principal. In reality .....
When you think about this, it really raises some uncomfortable issues. For example, most people who have been thru caring for a parent with a degenerative disease swear they will not do that to their kids. So they buy elderly care insurance. Aside from the possibility of the company going belly up when it is your time, you have to think about what your insurance will pay for? Sedation? Semi-isolation? Insurance is only half the equation. Do you really want to get into the other half?
Many people end up with their home being their main asset. You sell your house and how much care does that buy you? 4 - 5 years. And then what do you do?
I just figure suicide is an option after the house money runs out
Medicare will eventually pay for all of the care. It just depends on when your family member runs out of money. Long-term care under medicare might or might not be the best care. Some nursing homes cannot care for dementia patients, some can't care for patients that require extensive medical care. (added: Some cannot do hospice care). You have to interview the staff and some of the patients.
However, do not assume that the sale of a house will fund 4 or 5 years. The municipality sets property taxes and that requires a market value. That's what you are going to get from the sale of the house. If you can sell without a real estate agent, you save but remember, you still need a lawyer and a bank to do it. You will have to prepare the house for sale and move out. That is a big task.
The cost of a nursing home depends on the level of care - If the person requires physical therapy, then the fee goes up.
(Added: If the person needs assistance dressing, bathing, feeding the fee goes up.)
In some homes you pay for the medication separate.
In some homes you must buy daily supplies like diapers and under-pads. Quite possibly pay for the cable TV or internet. You also have to buy or rent a wheelchair or a walker or canes or braces. You will pay extra for the staff to take your family member to doctor's appointments.
Medicare will pick up much of this but they have copays.
I have a stack of ambulance and transport bills that ranged from $25 to $50 copays.
One more thing I would tell everyone - get a Last Will and Testament and a Power of Attorney prepare when your loved one is able to make those decisions. Get these done by a good lawyer. Do it now and not later when you need it - why do I say that? Because when you realize that you need to make the decision, your loved one won't be allowed to sign the legal forms. Do it before you need it.
I am with you on this one, Kristoff. I am not shy about saying it when it fits in a conversation and I find there are a lot of people in agreement. That is how a lot of Native American peoples handled it. I don't buy the argument that people are weak who commit suicide when they are in a very terminal situation. If anything, I would turn that right around and say people are weak who are deathly afraid of death and would put themselves, their family and the world through a lot of pain, discomfort, grief and expense to live one day longer.
I have talked with several people about this. One knew someone who knew the people at that facility. He talked with his friend and came back with several helpful comments. One is that I had every legal right to be concerned and get answers. Another was that the people at that facility had always seemed reasonable to him. Finally, there was the point that a sedative is often part of the treatment for pneumonia. Apparently slowing the body down helps the treatment drugs work better. Whether that sedative should have been continued past the pneumonia is a completely separate issue.
I called the head of nursing and had a reasonably long talk with her. Again, he went there for rehabilitation to learn to walk better as opposed to the stumbling Parkinson's gait. I made it clear that we loved the care he got from the caregivers, but that my concern was the sedative. I explained the condition we got him and that my day started with 30 - 90 minutes of cleaning him, clothes, bedding, floors and trying to get the urine odor out of the house. Now that he is off the sedative, that is no longer an issue. He sometimes uses his cane instead of a walker, washes his dishes, goes out to get the mail and helps fold laundry. In his current condition without the sedative, rehabilitation is reasonable. She promised that she would look into why nobody caught on to the sedative issue.
