So my father has been in a SNF at a nursing home for what we hope will be short term rehab since September 22. So he's still under the Day 1-20 of the Medicare pays for it thing. I went to a 'care meeting' with my mother today and... I am more confused and upset and anxious and scared than I was two days ago when he seemed out of it. Has anybody been through this sort of thing?
I don't really know the point of the meeting. A Social Services coordinator was there, someone from Dietary, a Nursing Coordinator, an Activities Director, and (briefly) his primary physical therapist. The therapist said he's walking 60-80 feet and more or less getting used to a walker (he has issues with contracture on his left hand and needs help gripping it, I guess). The therapist says some days are better than others and that there are still problems with stability and turning and shuffling and walking... all of which led the the fall that landed him there (on top of a host of other problems). Anyway, this seems sort of like progress.
Anyway, the Nursing Coordinator said when the 20 days ends and that his supplemental insurance will cover the rest for days 21-100 but... it'll be up to physical therapy when he's strong and stable enough to come home.
But... they talked around him, saying "if he can" when the sign-in sheet was passed around, talked about "do you hold his hand when he's walking around?" and when my mother said she wanted him to be able to be independent enough to get up and around the house on his own (neither she nor I is big enough to trained enough to do physical lifting and care safely... as we were doing before he got hurt) and somebody said "you can get a lift chair" as if that was the only chair he'd ever have to sit in.
Shouldn't that be when they start saying "maybe consider long term care"?
So... I walked away kind of terrified they're about to say "he's fine, you have 48 hours to take him home."
Is that bad of me?
How long do people usual spend in short term rehab at SNFs?
Do other ones have the 48 hour notice rule?
My mother and I (I live with my parents) have a lot of fears about how life was before and how it could be again (he won't do exercise or move around much at home)... which of these people who were at the meeting (and seemed very scripted) do we tell about these fears?
Should we have a meeting without my father there so we can feel more free to say them?
How do I talk to my father, even to my mother about them?
How can anyone at a nursing home having a meeting about this sort of thing, asking if someone will be there 'most of the time' to help him and if we've walked him around my the hand, even suggest that's a good way for anyone... him or us... to live?
Am I overreacting? Panicking for no reason?
Am I awful for asking these questions?
I adore you for having read this far in my panicked post and appreciate all words of advice, experience... that you might have.
