How I can get more hours for Mom's care with dementia?

I was in a similar situation with my mother. I ended up hiring caregivers from a local company in Palm beach who provided the most compassionate care ever at $15/hr.

thank you. very nice your answers. I will inform you about my investigations. excuse my bad ingles. god bless you, always. lamaga

lamaga, if Vitas is a hospice program, I think you are right that they do not provide direct care, except for short periods of visiting nurse.

What agency is providing the 27 hours hours of help now? I assume it is Medicaid, through Sunshine. Call your mom's caseworker and ask for a new needs assessment. They are not going to provide 24 hours a day, but it is entirely possible that under the circumstances they can increase the hours per week. I don't know how it works in Florida, but in Minnesota the case worker comes out to the home every six months, and is available by phone or email between visits. Start with the case worker.

Also ask the hospice social worker if he/she knows of other programs that may offer some volunteer service for your situation.

I understand how exhausting this is, and how stressful. I sincerely wish you success in finding even a little more help.

Let us know how this works out for you. We learn from each other.

I was reviewing information on Hospice today. I would also recommend just calling and talking to someone from Hospice. They may be able to help send someone out as well. I was just pulling that information up again. Is Vitas part of Hospice?

Orders come from the MD. At some point he may recommend a Nursing Home or even Hospice. Talk to the MD. It's a lot of work for the family and you can't keep up the pace forever. Call the Palm Beach county social services for help too.