My mother has lived with me for 19 years, and she is on her 3rd episode of bipolar schizephrenia. Now that she is 74 years old it is hard to get the proper treatment for her. The medical community think she has dementia. She called the police stating I was mean to her (which I was not), however, she went to the hospital. She had another medical issue of cellulitis, they treated that and after 2 days sent her back home. I requested a psyche evaluation and told them she needed to be treated for her bipolar condition and they had no knowledge of that (however it should be in her medical records so they failed to review her history). Anyway they refused to help me get her to a psyche dept to evaluate her. I told the hospital I could not take her back in my home and needed to place her somewhere. They would not help me. My mother went to my brother's and after four days of horrific treatment, he took to the doctor and the doctor put her back in the hospital. The hospital started treating her for her cellulitis again. Well finally there, she started halluncinating and seeing piglets and wanted to jump oiut the window. This hospital transferred my mother to a sister hospital and they had a psyche unit. My mother thought she was taking an ambulance home and when she discovered she was going to another hospital, she would not get off the gurney. The hospital wanted me to pick her up and if I did not they were going to send her to a homeless shelter. Finally, we were able to get her admitted to the psyche unit. I asked them to help me find a place for my mother after she gets better and they said there was no place that would take her in Indiana due to her mental condition. After three days of being on a psychotic drug, Serequel, the psychiatrist said she was ready to go home and could do her daily activites. I knew this was not true. I told him I could not take her back because I could not physically, emotionally and did not have all the time it requires to make appointments, take her to appointments, cook for her, etc. Well he gave me no option but a homeless shelter in Chicago and they would not help her. I do not want her at my home because I can not care for her and I don't want to be charged with elderly neglect because I cannot provide the care she needs. Please let me know what options I may have or an agency that will help me get my mother placed so she can receive the care she requires.
Frustrated in Indiana with no place for MOM
I had her in the pscyhe unit to get treatment but afte 3 days they kicked her out and she is not well
IMHO, it may be fine points of law, per State of locality?
--wish there were legal aids to step in on this one!
But the hospital would more likely be accused of "patient abandonment"---, perhaps also "threatening" &/or "harassing" --you--, a fragile person!
Also, have those facilities threatened or coerced your brother to take her back? IF not, then there might be other charges against them.
They routinely have to deal with these cases.
When a hospital threatens -you- with patient abandonment because you are protecting yourself & your remaining health from someone [your elder] who's harmed you [whatever that looks like, is very broad]---I believe they are threatening on thin ice.
PLEASE talk with Area Agency on Aging.
They usually have lawyers who volunteer time at those offices, & can make 1/2 hr. appointments with those for you----sometimes there's a long wait list----but be persistent--call them weekly to see if there's been cancellations!
Tell the lawyer, in fewest words, just facts of the case--from your post, it looks like, so far:
==hospitals & Docs treated cellulitis but failed to include her mental illness [possible neglect? malpractice?]
==force you to take her back once, & a 2nd episode, over your stated refusals on grounds of your own health & welfare issues, even though that might cause you to become more dysfunctional, creating even more draws on the medical & possibly welfare systems? [possible extortion? harassment? threatening? "unloading" or "avoiding treatment"?]
==Brother managed to get her readmitted, yet, they still failed to list her mental ills, only treated cellulitis...[malpractice?]
It is flamingly improper for any facility to demand anyone take back an elder, if that person is unfit to be a caregiver--by doing that, they could be brought up on charges of "patient endangerment".
What documentation do you have that would help prove your inability to be caregiver to them [or better yet, a judge?]?
If those hospitals are perpetrating that on you, they're doing it to others.
The more people roll over and allow facilities to get away with that , the more they think they can get away with it.
Talk about it far and wide--here was a great place to start. This is how things get changed for the better. But might also want to bring it to the attention of local papers?
Any writers who might be interested in an article on the state of our hospital care, or failing care of our mentally ill?
Homeless shelters are full of mentally ill & sick people [thanks, Ronald Reagan, & others].
A Hospital might think they can release her to a homeless shelter, but I'm not at all sure they legally can---you need legal advice for what's legal in that region.
Now the harder part:
IF the hospital did release her to a homeless shelter, would you or your brother feel so guilty, either of you would go fetch her back under either of your roofs?
Her behaviors will repeat.
She's not gonna change--if either of you let her back in, things will revert to how it was before she left--or worse.
YET, she's elderly, vulnerable, & possibly also demented some.
Whoever has protective custody of her at this point, is responsible for her welfare.
If that entity is a hospital, *tag*, they're "It".
E.R. visits are far more expensive than hospital stays or clinic visits.
Your brother managed to get her taken to the hospital and admitted...you can too.
You might have to call 911 for help doing it, but, done enough times, the facility gets the message. Your 911 reports might help document her behaviors, and your needs and limits.
Those also might be documentation to prove you are not a suitable physical caretaker for Mom
--in other words, you might be OK to make legal decisions for her, just not house and care for her.
As far as I know, releasing her to a homeless shelter, where she's essentially on her own recognizance as a frail, vulnerable elder, is illegal?
Not only that, but what was that about "dumping" her across State lines?!?!
THAT seems patently illegal.
That goes way beyond 1 hospital forcing a patient to be ambulanced across a city or to another city, to another hospital to get treatment, because the 1st hospital doesn't want to take on a welfare patient, or something. That's dumping. It's supposed to be illegal.
Please keep us posted!
God Bless You All!