|
The old expression "What goes around, comes around" comes to mind when we think about caring for elderly parents. Our parents care for us when we are children and there are circumstances where eventually we are now responsible for caring for them as they age and are now unable to care for themselves.
There are many choices that have to be made, some of which are very difficult. Do we have them live with us? Do we arrange for them to have nurses aides and sometimes live in help to care for them? Sometimes we are forced to look into nursing facilities, such as actual nursing homes or if they are still able to function normally, possibly an Assisted Living facility where they can basically live a normal life but now have the peace of mind of having nurses around in case of an emergency.
In an Assisted Living facility there are many advantages of having our elderly parents reside there. It can be a wonderful experience for both the parents and their children. For the parents, they usually have activities to keep them busy, receive three meals a day, have their medication given to them by trained personnel and many facilities even have physicans that come to that facility to examine them. The patient is evaluated at the time of admission to see what level of care is necessary. They also have laundry and cleaning included in some of the facilities and the best part is that they have a choice of either having a private room or can share with others. The children have peace of mind, especially if they live out of state, that their parents are cared for in an environment that will cater to the needs of the individual patient and that the patient will always have someone around in case of an emergency. Of course it is up the individual family to research and inspect each facility because there are all kinds of places that claim to be good and not all facilities are operating according to the standards of the state and the requirements of the insurance companies. There are many to choose from so it is very important to do your research if this is an option that you and your parents decide it is the best choice to make.
I had an elderly parent who was diagnosed with Alzheimers and also had other medical conditons that required around the clock attention. She had a home health care policy but it was only good for a couple of hours a day. She was not able to take care of herself at night and because of my own health issues it was not an option for her to live with us. Word of warning, if your parents want to apply and get a home health care policy, READ THE FINE PRINT VERY CAREFULLY, BETTER YET, GET AN ELDER ATTORNEY TO TRANSLATE THE TERMS AND CONDITONS OF THAT POLICY. Sometimes, the saleperson will not explain deductions and terms of these policies and these policies are very expensive and most people never get a chance to use them and those who need the services, later find out that they are not eligable for the type of care they thought they were getting.
We had a personal experience with an elderly Aunt who purchased a plan and assumed that if she needed services after being hospitalized that they would take care of her. What she did not realize is that according to her particular policy, she had a 100 day waiting period before the policy went into effect. Translation, that after she was discharged from a rehabilitaton facility for therapy of a fractured hip, her policy said she was responsible for paying for skilled care and even the aides out of pocket before the policy would kick in. Of course when you think about it, YOU NEED YOUR POLICY WHEN YOU ARE DISCHARGED FOR A SKILLED FACILITY OR HOSPITAL, NOT THREE MONTHS LATER! so the money that she paid into the policy which by the way cost her over $25,000 over the years was like throwing out her money. She is still trying to fight with the company to have someone come in a few hours a day. She lives alone and needed someone to help her shower, and get dressed. If my Aunt had taken that same money and invested it into a liquid CD, she would have had the money to hire the people she needed when she was discharged so I would not recommend taking out this kind of insurance.
I did a lot of research and visited many Assisted Living facilites to find the right one for my Mother. After visiting and checking references, I found the perfect one that was only 15 minutes away from where I lived. She had a studio that was down the hall from the nurses station and lived there for almost three years. Each year they would evaluate her conditon and as her disease progressed more care was needed. They made her feel comfortable and I had peace of mind knowing that she was in excellent hands. Her primary physician made monthly visits to her room and called me with progress reports. When she had a massive stroke last year at the age of 95, we decided that we would bring her back to her room and called in Hospice. Not only did Hospice make her last week comfortable but the nurses at Park Summit and all the members of that facility came into her room each day to see her. She died peacefully a week later in the comfort of her own room surrounded by people who truly cared for her.
So when and if you are confronted with the possibility of having to care for your elderly parents, remember there are many options to choose from. The difficult part is finding the right fit for both you and your parents.
Iris S.Taub |
tweet this!
