| Where will the hospital discharge the patient to? Do they have people to handle it? This elderly person does not have his own residence or anyone capable of caring for him. |
| The hospital usually has a social worker who works with any relatives or people with health care power of attorney, or with the patient, to discharge them into nursing care. |
End up going to a low cost hell hole. |
Do you have personal experience with this? |
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How can he not have his own residence? Is he homeless?
If he is homeless and indigent, then a social worker will have to make an assessment of what his needs are and what the local resources are that can meet those needs. The assumption is he would be Medicaid eligible and in need of full-time nursing care. Which would actually be best in the short-term as he would have a roof over his head and a bed. If Medicaid eligible then they will find a facility that has a Medicaid bed available. If he is not in bad physical shape and does not need full-time nursing care, then it would be up to the local elderly services to find a room/lodging that is available to meet his needs. But there would still be a cost involved with that so it might be dependent upon what he gets for Social Security. In many, many communities there is NO housing available for the elderly. Add into that all the competition for rental properties and rent increases, there are very few places which are vacant. It is not unheard of for the elderly without significant medical needs (necessitating nursing care) to find themselves on the street. You will see them on the streets and along the roads in Florida since there are usually no housing vouchers for elderly as families with minor children come first. Florida is the bellwether for how it goes elsewhere. If the elderly have a car they may live in them. Or else you see them pushing carts with their belongings. Many of them do not have mental health or substance abuse issues, they are simply old and poor and have nowhere to go. |
He is currently staying with a relative but that relative’s house is not set up for a disabled person, nor does the relative have the means (time, skill, money) to care for a person who is not independent. That relative does not want the person back because it would be too much. |
Yes, the hospital has someone that will coordinate their care and find nursing home that has room to take him. It sounds like after dischargee, they will need to go to an assisted living facility and I believe Medicaid for that expense but they will have to go the a place that takes that. |
Medicaid does NOT cover assisted living. OP, if your relative does not want this elderly man back in their home then the first and most important thing is to make sure that he knows it. Have you and/or relative point-blank said to him that he is no longer welcome to live with them? If not, then relative needs to sit him down, look him in the eye and tell him. He should be fully aware that he does not have the option of living with family anymore. The sooner he knows he is on his own/alone the better. He can make choices based on the fact that he can no longer expect his family to care for him. Hopefully, he will wind up with a good social service person who can aid him in (also hopefully) finding a place to live and a support system. There are many people in volunteer organizations who will help fill in the voids in his life, such as activities, companionship, adopt-a-grandparent program, donation of clothing, rides to appointments, etc. |
| The hospital will discharge to a nursing home but usually they pick the first bed who will take that person vs. the best fit. If this is your loved one you can call around, visit and pick one. |
Medicaid in some states covers assisted living, in other states it does not. There are also programs for assisted living that are lower cost. However, in MD, they only pay for nursing home care. But, in other sates its different as each state runs their own long term care medicaid program. If he is staying at a friend's house, someone needs to locate a bed and apply for long term medicaid for him. |
This is important because when getting ready to be discharged, it would be expected that he would go back to where he was living previously. The relative MUST advise the hospital/social services person that he is NOT welcome back and something else must be done for him. That's why relative needs to be honest and say "I cannot care for you in our home anymore and you will need to find a place that can." |
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Ask the social worker if your relative qualifies for a waiver program. Not sure it still exists in MD or not, but the program would pay for the beneficiary to live in a group home.
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That's true, but MOST of the states require that individual has "nursing home level of care needs" AND will need a waiver AND will have to be put on a looooong waiting list. In summation, people should never expect to get Assisted Living benefits from Medicaid. |
If you are in a nursing home for think 3o days they have a program but the group homes that take the waiver I looked at were really bad. |