Right now I have enough money to put Mom in a good nursing home for a year or two. But if she needs care for five or six years I cannot afford it. I have heard there are wonderful and affordable facilities in other countries but have no idea how to find them. Does anyone know how you can find quality dementia care in Costa Rica and or Mexico?
Not looking for a Medicaid answer. Thank you for your help.
She was always clean, she got fed because she wasn't able to feed herself. She always had a happy attitude, until they were showering her. Modesty dies hard, so we instructed them to just get the shower done no matter how loud she yelled. She was never hurt in the process.
My grandmother was in a facility that was truly an institution. This was decades ago, when you didn't have many choices. It scared me to death but, I remember that she was always clean, didn't have any weight loss and was not sedated to a zombie. Her room was clean and the facility didn't smell. So even though it wasn't the 1st class facility my grannie was in, she was well taken care of.
Unfortunately, many people still associate those state institutions as nursing homes, things have come a long way in 40 years.
I think it is hard for people to watch MSM and really know what is going on. Many of these refugees have been trained on what needs to be said to gain refugee status and all the benefits that includes. That's why they don't say it's because of poverty, because they would be denied. That's what MSM doesn't tell the public. I live near the border and I have traveled into Mexico and seen the reality of no middle class. That's really why they are storming our borders, because you can't change your status in Mexico, you're either wealthy or poor and you're born into it. But, if you get refugee status you get a place to live, food stamps, medical insurance, free education, job training and a minimum of 800.00 monthly. Who wouldn't want that deal?
Will you come back and let us know how you found a facility after you do?
Oh, about the language, you're right. Educated Mexicans speak English, it's a requirement in there educational system. They just use the "language barrier" to see what people really are. Talk smack and get crappy treatment, be kind and make an effort to speak their language and they feel respected and reciprocate.
As for covid - I can't imagine nursing homes are any safer in either county you've mentioned (although some states do seem to be much more cautious than others).
From what I have seen many of the nursing homes in the US are not great. After reading about amount of people that died in nursing homes with Covid I reached out looking for information. Not insulting comments and prejudices!
Have a great evening!
Wishing you the best of luck finding the situation you're looking for and the responses that suit you best.
We had a poster (Sue) who had her mom in a NH or MC in Mexico.
Here is a link to one of her posts
https://www.agingcare.com/discussions/change-of-plan-447135.htm
Be sure to read her bio as she explains how she went about moving back and forth from California to Mexico.
Her mom died in 2019.
International care homes search might help.
Maybe contacting the Mexican consulate in your town or the American one where you're interested.
That's where I would start.
IMHO, the care given to patients is not based on their ability to pay top dollar. MANY people wind up needing Medicaid.
If my mom goes into care, she will only have enough to private pay for a year, maybe 2. Then she'd be Medicaid dependent. I wouldn't want her thousands of miles from us...maybe it's cheaper, but the cost of care is NOT the only thing at play here.
People on Medicaid are not treated any differently than self-pay individuals. The staff have no idea who is on Medicaid and who isn't. My Mom paid privately and transitioned into Medicaid.
I'm sure you can find seemingly great places that are less expensive in other countries but there will be other factors to consider, like distance, language barrier, concept of care, borders closing due to covid, the value of the US dollar against their currency, political and criminal instability (both Mexico and CR have very active gang activity), unknown legal structures that would allow you to pursue solutions if there were issues with her care or payment, and the possibility that your mom may need care longer than six years. If your mom has dementia, adjusting to change will already be challenging...now think about adjusting to an entirely new culture, food, language...
IMHO you should not be planning to pay for your mom's ongoing care as this is unsustainable and robs from your own future. If your mom entered a good NH on private pay in the US, then Medicaid would cover her care if she qualified. It would be very important to know how and when she would qualify by consulting with a Medicaid Planner for her state or an elder law attorney.
I personally would be very hesitant to send a very vulnerable person thousands of miles away where I would have trouble checking on her in person more than once a year.