If you do hospice do not use Capital Caring. Horrible.

Hi OP - I am a hospital and hospice chaplain. And, I’m in a similar position. My FIL has Parkinson’s. We are relocating to be closer because my MIL can no longer manage his care. They are downsizing for now. But I’ve watched this disease unfold so many times. I expect he’ll need more care than we can provide within the next year at most.

My advice- Start with his doctor. You might be surprised by what is qualifies for. At 86 with a Parkinson’s diagnosis, he may qualify for Hospice care. Either in home or at a facility. Generally, in order to qualify, a doctor must certify that assuming his illness follows a typical course, he is likely to die within six months. We have patients who have been on hospice care for three years. They just recertify every six months. They eat normal foods. A few are ambulatory. People often assume hospice patients are on their death beds. That’s just not true. Hospice is about making the time we do have as easy, pain free, and enjoyable as possible.

Someone just posted this link on another thread. I think it’s geriatric case managers in Montgomery county. Might be worth checking out:

http://www.compassionatecareforseniors.com/

My dad was at Arbor Place in Rockville and he stayed there until he passed. He was even on hospice there. They were absolutely wonderful. It is very small and just dementia patients. You would think it would be depressing but it is really calm and joyful. The downside is it is not cheap.

I believe there are a couple of other small dementia facilities. Maybe one is called Copper Ridge? Good luck in your search.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP , so sorry to hear about your Dad’s situation. We have gone through this with a family member with Parkinson’s disease and one with dementia. We dreaded the thought of them being in large institutional settings; we knew they would deteriorate more quickly no matter how much time we spent with them. We were able to find small private assisted living facilities that gave excellent care in a home like environment. The cost was much less than in a corporate facility and our relatives were very well cared for. They didn’t have a lot of special events and scheduled activities, but they did more informal activities. I think we got the listing from the county office of aging. A geriatric case manager is also a wonderful idea, although I don’t know of any in the area to recommend.

Will these assisted living facilities provide care to someone like OP’s dad who requires 100% assistance with activities of daily living? I always thought assisted living was for people who needed assistance but could manage certain things on their own still. Or am I mistaken?

In our case they did. They couldn’t have handled feeding tubes or IV’s but gave very good total care including bathing, incontinence and feeding. We did provide our own supplies like toiletries items bed pad etc but they provided food.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the PP, can you give examples of such facilities?

Sure, here’s one example:

https://www.kenwoodcare.com/dayton-assisted-living-facility-glen-hill.php

I’m the PP whose parent already passed from Parkinson’s but this is an interesting alternative for OP to look into if her mom is not wanting to keep her father at home. Can you share what the cost was for you and what level of care it covers? One thing to consider (along lines of what PP said), especially if your parent has PD related or other dementia or hallucinations is that changing their surroundings to something unfamiliar can be very disruptive for them. I think this is partially why my father went so rapidly downhill after his hospitalization. But your mom has to do what is also in her best interest. Being the primary caregiver is physically and emotionally draining, and you need to be mindful of her physical and mental health as well. Best of luck to you.

It has been a few years since we used a facility similar to this. I don’t remember the exact cost because my dad was paying out of pocket for my mom’s care. The cost was significantly less than for a larger assisted living facility or nursing home. As my mom’s condition deteriorated they asked us to pay a little more each month because of the extra time involved in caring for her. We gladly did. One of the best things was having consistency with caregivers and not a revolving door like some places. They welcomed my dad’s visits and treated him like family.

Anonymous wrote:OP , so sorry to hear about your Dad’s situation. We have gone through this with a family member with Parkinson’s disease and one with dementia. We dreaded the thought of them being in large institutional settings; we knew they would deteriorate more quickly no matter how much time we spent with them. We were able to find small private assisted living facilities that gave excellent care in a home like environment. The cost was much less than in a corporate facility and our relatives were very well cared for. They didn’t have a lot of special events and scheduled activities, but they did more informal activities. I think we got the listing from the county office of aging. A geriatric case manager is also a wonderful idea, although I don’t know of any in the area to recommend.

Will these assisted living facilities provide care to someone like OP’s dad who requires 100% assistance with activities of daily living? I always thought assisted living was for people who needed assistance but could manage certain things on their own still. Or am I mistaken?