Elderly mom has late stage cancer, just found out. Where do I start looking for help?
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Anonymous
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My family is asking me to take care of finding out what we do when she comes home from the hospital. I dont even know where to start!
I know we need help with her at home, but I have no idea if Medicare covers this? My father will eventually need care so I don't want to use all of their savings... They also will need a stair lift chair because of the way their house is, you have to go up the steps just to get to the living room. Will Medicare cover any of that? We aren't at the hospice stage yet, she is just getting very weak and we can't really get her to and from the bathroom or anything. I'm so lost, any advice would be greatly appreciated. |
Anonymous
| Just call their local hospice even if you don't think she will qualify. They are an excellent information resource and can easily answer these questions. |
Anonymous
| Wonderful, thank you. I'll do that this morning. |
Anonymous
| I'm so sorry about your mother. The hospital social worker may have some information--or may at least know where to point you. |
Anonymous
| Medicare does cover hospice services. They can help get you set up. They will have nurses, social workers, CNAs and a chaplain to help you. |
Anonymous
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Contact the social worker or discharge planner at the hospital and they should be able to help you get started.
So sorry your mom is sick. 
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Anonymous
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Talk to the hospital social worker....they should be able to help...if they seem hesitant (some suck..some are great) keep pushing...
They have been thru this... Prayers for you and your family. |
Anonymous
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Hospice can provide help months before the actual end, including lots of resources for home care. It was a godsend for my family for two of my grandparents.
I am so sorry, OP. |
Anonymous
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OP here, thanks for the replies. So we found out that she doesn't quite need hospice yet (I think?) they are sending her home tomorrow. What do we do for care between now and when she is far enough down the lone for hospice?
She is not even able to get up to go to the bathroom, it's only myself and my brother and my elderly father trying to take care of her and none of us are able to lift her. She isn't obese but she isn't small either. Really how do you deal with the logistics of all this? Do we hire a home care nurse and pay out of pocket to help fill in the gaps? My brother and I both work and we both have young families... |
Anonymous
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Can she be released to a step down facility instead of home? I know Medicare doesn't typically cover custodial care, but I could have sworn when we went through this with my grandmother that they will cover something like 30 days of it immediately following a hospital discharge.
If out of pocket payment does need to be made, her resources should be tapped first.....if she exhausts them, Medicaid can step in. |
Anonymous
| We are afraid to tap out all her resources because we know my dad will need care at some point too. We are supposed to meet with the social worker here shortly, my father wants to handle this all himself though so he is hard-headed and will only half listen to our advice, ugh! |
Anonymous
| Look into an occupational therapist to come do a home visit - they come in and assess your home to see if and what assistive devices are needed to help your mom move about (grab bars in he bathroom, etc) |
Anonymous
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I agree with what a pp termed step down care. I don't think your mother needs to be sent home right away. Assuming she just spent 3 days or more in the hospital, she should qualify for 21 days in a nursing home courtesy of Medicare, paid 100%. She could probably benefit from a little PT if she's been in bed a lot. Her muscles have atrophied and she needs to regain a little bit of strength so she can hold some of her own weight.
As far as home health aide, if your parents didn't have LT care insurance, it's all out of pocket. I would find out as much as possible about what resources they have to pay for that. You will need it. There are many decent home care agencies in the area. You will likely be quoted a price of $16 to $20 per hour. Beware that a domestic employee must have taxes remitted. Do not listen to the agency reps who tell you the aides are independent contractors. I paid a higher fee so they would payroll our nurse. You can't deduct the nurse cost from your parents's taxes if she's being paid under the table, and you'll want to do that. In my experience, it's not easy to find a night nurse. Most prefer to work during the day. Aso FYI, hospice is great but in home hospice means they expect the family to provide most of the care, they don't come for too many hours during the week. This is not easy, I've been in your position. Good luck. |
Anonymous
Yes, this is probably available through Medicare. |