My Dad lives in a VA home in NJ and would like to understand the 36 month look back period. Advice?

I moved my Dad to a VA facility in NJ in February of 2012. He has gone through a lot of money. He pays approximately $5K a month which is the full charge for VAs if they have the money. My question is he did have a house, that I sold because I am his guardian but it was an expensive process. I would like to understand when does the 36 month look back start. For example, if he runs out of money in 2016, will the VA look back 3 years from 2016 to look at his assets. Someone at the VA told me it was 36 month look back from the date of admission but that does not make any sense to me.