[kendi]

[QUOTE=Philipd411;2296628]My mom just moved in with my wife and I. I was told by my sister that medicare will proved in home care including help with cleaning her room, washing her cloths, helping her wash and other things she is having trouble doing.

My sister said medicare did this for her father in law when he moved into her house.

I called her medicare and they said no. But they do provide up to 32 hours a week for medical care.

I know we can hire someone to provide these services but it comes out of her savings or we kids pay.

Does anyone know if such a program is real?

So far every home health care company I called said there is no such thing.[/

Lots of good advice. Hope you find the help you need.

[TinaBlitz]

I believe it’s Medicaid, not Medicare that provides some of those services.

[TVTVTV]

Originally Posted by Philipd411

I can not bathe my mother, I can not dress my mother. Not asking for maid service. asking if medicare help provide in home care help for those who can not longer provide themselves that type of care. Sorry I was not clear enough

It's great you are able to have your mother in your home. Kudos for doing that- it is a lot of work. I'm sorry folks have to be so quick with snarky comments - mostly the same people.

[LuvNH]

Our Physical Therapist was at our home just this morning and I asked him if there is any home care available. It seems there is if you have the correct insurance, the expensive kind. We have United Health Care J Plan. If we have a PT working in the home and you tell him you need extra help with bathing etc. etc., J Plan will cover help for 60 days. You should not just take my word for this, if you have J Plan and you need help please check with United Health Care.

[Lea N]

I don't see what the OP wrote originally but can gather quite a bit from the comments. I don't know if I have anything of real value to offer you, I wish I did.

I am a caregiver to my husband who requires a high level of care. Medicare does not offer in home services. Medicaid I believe offers some level of assistance but I'm not familiar with how it works and I believe it is very difficult to qualify for assistance.

At one time there was a church in Lady Lake who had volunteers who would assist by sitting with your loved one while the caregiver ran errands but they are no longer doing this. Maybe there are other churches in the area who have people who can help, even if they come in for a couple hours a few days a week? Your loved one's social security could pay for this?

If you or your wife need someone coming in to help with dressing, feeding, toileting, bathing, etc. and are going to end up paying out of pocket I would suggest trying to get someone in during the times you will be needing the most help. Maybe for a few hours in the morning?

Try contacting an elder care attorney. The laws change constantly. Years ago we had a friend who was a caregiver to his wife. His attorney suggested he charge her for his time. This isn't something for everyone but it works for some. I don't remember all the details but it was a few dollars above minimum wage. His attorney told him to document in detail EVERY thing that he did. Dressing, bathing, feeding, house cleaning, laundry, giving medications, contacting doctors, taking his wife to doctors appointments, etc., etc., etc.

I wish you all the best with this.

[Marmaduke]

2 years at full cost.
The qualifiers are 20K or LESS In ANY ASSETS, earnings, S.S.

Problem is... sons and daughters want to inherit mom and dads assets when they die, don't want to use them for their care. Want nursing home care, but don't want to pay 6,8, 10 K a month, every month.

*Hospice and Palliative Care is compassionate care provided at end of life, per Drs. orders.

[Marmaduke]

2 years at full cost before MEDICAID!!
The qualifiers are generally20K or LESS In ANY ASSETS, house,
proceeds from House sale, earnings, bank accts, S.S.

Problem is... sons and daughters want to inherit mom and dads wealth/assets when they die.. who can Blane them... but don't want to use their PARENTS ASSETS for their care. They want nursing home care, but don't want to pay 6, 8, 10 K a month, every month.

*Hospice and Palliative Care is compassionate care provided at end of life, as the patient is terminal or dying per Drs. orders, of course.

[villageuser]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

To be eligible for hospice, a doctor needs to certify that your have less than 6 months to live. It is paid for as a Medicare Part A benefit, and you would receive very limited life-saving medical care. Not a good option for someone who just needs help with things like bathing and dressing.

Not quite correct. If someone has been on decline for awhile, like my mother, she gets put on Hospice. That’s why it’s good to reach out and have them evaluate the person.

As long as the person continues to decline, they stays on Hospice. If they were to level out for a few months, then they’d take them off Hospice, but when the decline starts again, they’d get put back on. A few times they thought they’d be able to take my mom off Hospice, and there were a few times they started to prepare me because they thought she was transitioning. It’s not a linear journey, which is why they’re careful in their decisions. It’s been great having them there, including having them there to talk to. (Besides nursing and bathing help, they have a chaplain and social worker.)

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by villageuser

Not quite correct. If someone has been on decline for awhile, like my mother, she gets put on Hospice. That’s why it’s good to reach out and have them evaluate the person.

As long as the person continues to decline, they stays on Hospice. If they were to level out for a few months, then they’d take them off Hospice, but when the decline starts again, they’d get put back on. A few times they thought they’d be able to take my mom off Hospice, and there were a few times they started to prepare me because they thought she was transitioning. It’s not a linear journey, which is why they’re careful in their decisions. It’s been great having them there, including having them there to talk to. (Besides nursing and bathing help, they have a chaplain and social worker.)

Vitas also have volunteers who will come and stay with the patient but cannot do any medical chores.

We have had Vitas for three years but my Mom has Alzheimers and often sundowns which is very difficult to deal without the meds. I think the most important thing about Vitas is that we get prescriptions either delivered or which I can pick up. The Alzheimers does not get better. Only worse.

My Dad luckily got long term nursing insurance which we have had first Trusted Home Care and now Right at Home people coming in. Trusted Home Care was $24 an hour three years ago and Right at Home is $30 an hour.

[thelegges]

Have waited before commenting on those who chose to chastise OP about personal care of a 90yo.

First someone who has never taken care of elderly has zero right to criticize.

OP May have a fear of how frail parent is and concerns of doing harm with no idea how to care for parent.

OP may not be able to handle a parent whose weight is more than they can handle.

OPs parent may not be want child or in-law to help with personal issues. (My parents disliked my spouse) Parent maybe so noncompliant that it would cause serious issues. Why because the parent does not think they need help.

Dementia and Alzheimer parents can and will be difficult and not an easy road to walk.

Those who have walked this path have a wealth of information, those who haven’t just have opinions

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

To be eligible for hospice, a doctor needs to certify that your have less than 6 months to live. It is paid for as a Medicare Part A benefit, and you would receive very limited life-saving medical care. Not a good option for someone who just needs help with things like bathing and dressing.

Some hospice services in Florida also provide palliative care for people who are not yet eligible for end-of-life care. Those services would be such as bathing, feeding, and dressing. And while they're in the house if the patient soils their Depends, or needs to use the bathroom, assistance is provided for that as well.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Also for those who haven't had to experience it and are quick to judge, here's my experience:

Both my parents insisted they wanted to die at home, when the time came. Mom had a brain-bleed stroke. She started recovering, and was doing fairly well with 24/7 home health care, paid for by long-term insurance after the $50K deductible was paid out of pocket. This was of course affecting dad, who was unable to help her because he was unwell. Depression ruled the household, it was just the two of them plus mom's aides.

My sister called one night, in the middle of the night, to tell me to get down there ASAP, mom was in the hospital and it wasn't looking good. We drove 4 hours - mom was mostly unresponsive. But they cleared her for home hospice care. So we got her home, and I spent the next 5 days watching her die. They put her on a catheter because moving her to change her Depends was so painful - during her hours at the hospital she fell and broke her back.

She became unresponsive, and finally stopped breathing. I literally watched it happen. There was nothing I could do to help her.

Dad was there too - and he decided at that point - that if he is ever unresponsive like that, but still alive, he wants to die in a facility, not at home. He doesn't want me or my sister to have to endure that a second time.

This happened this past October.

I -highly- recommend that anyone whose loved one is near the end of their life, if the loved one never made any arrangements for home care - let them go peacefully in a facility that exists to help them through that time. There is nothing "peaceful" about dying at home, when your family is there to see it happen. The home itself becomes a place of profound sadness, and whoever else is still living in that home has a 24/7 memory of that moment that they can't ever push aside. Dad can't look at the space in the living room where Hospice had the hospital bed so mom could hear the TV and be with family while she was dying.

No family "needs" that kind of heartbreak.