Grandmother is in the hospital and can't return to retirement home. Now she needs a nursing home. Where do I start?

Do you have her POA? Are you in the same state? I am wondering why it is your responsibility. Are there no children? You can't do a whole lot without having access to her finances. But, yes, the hospital will help with the transfer.

What is the situation with her old "retirement home"? Do they have a rehab wing or perhaps have a sister facility that is a NH? If so, that could be the best as they probably already have her details and financial info. I'd look into that as well as the whole social worker @ hospital angle to find her a place.

If you know for sure she will NOT be going back to retirement home, you need to let them know.

Also you need to start to figure out what gran's finances are. When she gets discharged from the hospital, she will be on "rehab" which is a benefit of Medicare. So Medicare will pay for her stay at the "rehab" facility which will likely be within a NH. Now Medicare will only pay for a set amount of time - at least 3 weeks and could pay up to 100 days with a copay.

Most elderly just flat cannot do the "rehab" needed so Medicare phases out payment maybe week 4. At that point in time, grannie is going to either need to private pay for her stay, have TLC insurance to pay for it or apply for Medicaid (if the facility takes Medicaid). If it looks like Medicaid, someone will have to gather gran's info together. The NH will have a list of things they want to see. It can be overwhelming to deal with so knowing what to look for and sooner is better. Good luck.

Sometimes the department is called Discharge Planning. Just remember, it's their responsiblitiy to help you find someplace, and to not discharge to someplace unsafe.

Your gram is in the perfect place for you to get all the assistance you need. Just contact the Social Services Dept at the hospital to get the ball rolling.

The first thing you do is refuse to take your grandmother home if the hospital tries to discharge her. You tell the hospital that there is no one to care for her and you refuse to let her be discharged to you.

Get in touch with a social worker at the hospital. Put in a request with a nurse that you'd like to speak to a social worker. There are social workers who work in hospitals and you shouldn't have a problem getting one to see you.

Explain to the social worker that your grandmother needs more care, that she can't be discharged to her retirement apartment, and that you think she needs a nursing home. The social worker will do an assessment and if she agrees with you, will help you get your grandmother placed in a nursing home. The social worker will do the footwork for you in finding a place.