My 64-year-old married sister is being discharged from rehab in Florida, but she still needs a lot of care. After having several mini strokes in the hospital (she had a bad infection and became septic) she is bedridden with no control of her bladder or bowels. They say this can improve but there are no guarantees and it could take months to see improvement.
Her husband works full-time and there is no one to take care of her at home. He makes too much money for her to qualify for Medicaid but he cannot afford the type of care she needs. She was already on full disability and has an Aetna Medicare PPO. She is not on her husband's insurance due to the cost. She does not have Long Term Care insurance.
They are in Florida. Who can they contact to see what their options are? How can the rehab place discharge her when there is no one to take care of her? It doesn't seem like she benefited at all from being at the rehab center. She's actually less alert than when she got there. This is frustrating and scary.
It's too bad that they didn't try to figure this out until she got discharged.
exploitive, and that our older people are treated so shabbily.
If they have to downsize their home to afford caregivers, that may be the best option, if her recovery takes a long time. Her husband should sit down with a Certified Elder Care attorney to get some guidance and advice.
Best of luck.
Hopefully he is communicating with the discharge planner at the rehab centre - to arrange the care & services his wife will need at home - before she gets home.
Sometimes even the best planned help won't be enough & getting home is the real test.
They will either cope or not cope. If not coping, then back into the healthcare system can happen, maybe with a longer rehab stay.
Has your sister been able to speak up for herself? About what she expects & wants?
Desperate times lead to desperate time
All creative ideas are needed / welcomed. However, divorcing at this stage of the game may be a red flag and there may be 'perimeters' about these legal proceedings based on when they happen.
And ... happy July 4th. We do not care about our elderly in this country - although we are the richest country in the world).
Capitalism could include some humanitarian, compassionate care for all of us as we age. At this point, we're lucky to be able to keep our soc sec... And who knows how things will proceed. Gena
"He makes too much money for her to qualify for Medicaid..."
Did they actually apply or is this an assumption? No one should assume this so they should talk to a Medicaid Planner for her home state.
I don't know what SNF is. However, I too, said husband needs to get an lawyer specializing in elder care. Gena
He could start by hiring an attorney that specializes in elder care law.
Gena / Touch Matters
The discharge planner failed in this case, you can't send someone home in this condition with no plan of care of how to proceed.