Is the 1000 the assets she is allowed in spend down or has she gone over that cap by 1000 because of her personal needs acct?
I would not buy her a cell phone. I had a very simple one for my Mom, just turn on and turn off and she never understood it. The short-term memory goes first. Meaning you can teach her to use it one day and she forgets the next day or even one minute. Even though my Mom had used a cordless for years, she forgot how to use it. She remembered how to use the old one on the wall, though, because that is long-term memory. From Moms name, is English a second language for her, if so, she will revert back to her first language.
The one major reason not to buy her a cell phone is theft or loss. People, staff and wandering residents come into her room everyday. The home is not responsible for theft and loss.
Buy a cell phone for who, you or her? You already know that with your mom having dementia, that the odds of her being able to figure out how to use a cell phone is slim to none right? Like already said, save that money for something she will actually need down the road.
I have a relative who was diagnosed with dementia several months ago. She had steadfastly refused to learn technology (who knows why, she apparently didn’t want to be bothered with it). She is 82.
Her children bought her a cell phone because they think she needs one now that she’s been diagnosed. No way is she ever going to be able to use it. She says it’s a simple one and after she learns that one, she’ll progress to a more complicated phone and maybe a tablet.
Wishful thinking and waste of money. If she’d embraced technology years ago, maybe. But now she’s completely lost and frustrated.
Technology is our friend, and it’s how the world is run now. Learn it while you can, not when your brain isn’t up to the task.
Are you trying to spend down an overage for Medicaid? Truthfully I would hang on to the cash , for eye glasses etc that may come up.. Cell phones get lost…
Yes, and I agree with Cwillie that you will need to really be honest about her ability to learn new technology. Please consider a landline that has large buttons where you can put pictures of the people she can call on it. A smart phone will make you her on-call tech help. She may lose it. She may buy crap on the internet or open herself up to scammers and fraud.
My MIL started calling everyone in her phone book at all hours of the day and night so we went with a land line. Make sure you Mom only has essential people written in her phone book.
Just have tempered expectations. Keep the receipts. If the residence has a Trust Fund (for internal use, like hair & nail salon care) then put as much of her money as possible into it.
It seems a big waste of money to me 🤷🏻♀️. Unless she is already proficient at using a smart phone she may never get the hang of it, plus there are good phones available for a fraction of that price.
I would not buy her a cell phone. I had a very simple one for my Mom, just turn on and turn off and she never understood it. The short-term memory goes first. Meaning you can teach her to use it one day and she forgets the next day or even one minute. Even though my Mom had used a cordless for years, she forgot how to use it. She remembered how to use the old one on the wall, though, because that is long-term memory. From Moms name, is English a second language for her, if so, she will revert back to her first language.
The one major reason not to buy her a cell phone is theft or loss. People, staff and wandering residents come into her room everyday. The home is not responsible for theft and loss.
Like already said, save that money for something she will actually need down the road.
Her children bought her a cell phone because they think she needs one now that she’s been diagnosed. No way is she ever going to be able to use it. She says it’s a simple one and after she learns that one, she’ll progress to a more complicated phone and maybe a tablet.
Wishful thinking and waste of money. If she’d embraced technology years ago, maybe. But now she’s completely lost and frustrated.
Technology is our friend, and it’s how the world is run now. Learn it while you can, not when your brain isn’t up to the task.
In AL now, she has a dial phone in her room with BIG numbers, works for her.
My step-mother with FTD does not have a phone at all she no longer knows how to use it.
My MIL started calling everyone in her phone book at all hours of the day and night so we went with a land line. Make sure you Mom only has essential people written in her phone book.
Just have tempered expectations. Keep the receipts. If the residence has a Trust Fund (for internal use, like hair & nail salon care) then put as much of her money as possible into it.