My mother, 76, was recently hospitalized due to a fall and other complications. She lives with me, her son, and her health has deteriorated over the past few months.
She’s had 2 hospitalizations recently. She has dementia, COPD, 2 fractured shoulders, fractures in her back, etc. She will require 24 hour care and there is no one at home to care for her — it's only me — but she won't be able to stay alone while I'm at work. I travel out of town for work and am sometimes gone for 2-3 days.
I'm pretty sure they are going to discharge her in the next few days. She is not safe here alone in her condition. I have heard of emergency placement in a nursing home from the hospital.
My question is, who do I need to talk to first about that? What should I say? Should I just refuse to let them send her home?
Get in touch with the discharge planning unit asap. Hopefully, your mom can be sent to rehab, covered by by Medicare for a week or so which will give you some to look around for a long term care facility.
Use the words "unsafe discharge" if anyone tells you they want to send her home. You are not available to provide her the car she needs
Have you knowledge of anyone that was sent home on a medical transport without the family's consent? That would be a horribly outrageous thing to do.
Unsafe Discharge rinse and repeat. Continue to work with the social worker. Does the facility your mother was doing rehab a few months ago also have a long term care unit? If so, contact that social worker to see about the transition to LTC.
Can she go to a rehab that has a nursing home component for another 21 days on Medicare and then transition to the NH part? Can she pay out of pocket for a couple months to spend down her assets and then apply for Mediciad long term care.
You also need an elder care attorney or a great person willing to help you navigate through the Mediciad long term care process. Are you POA? If not then you should obtain one immediately. AND, do not sign anything without being a POA.
My neighbor age 77 just broke her shoulder and opposing wrist. She got 4 weeks in rehab.
If so talk to the Discharge Planner. Tell them that she can not be discharged to home as it is not safe. At this point she could go to Rehab or if necessary Long Term Care.
It sounds like she will be unable to return to your home.
You need to begin looking for Long Term Care for her.
That could be Skilled Nursing facility or Memory Care.
Talk to the Discharge Planer or Social Worker if you need to begin the process of applying for Medicaid.
You could also ask for a Hospice evaluation.
What this might do is open more facility possibilities. While a facility may not have a bed available it is possible that there might be one if a person is on Hospice. (to be blunt...the life expectancy of a person on Hospice would not be the same as a "healthy" resident of the same age)
But for the time being the phrase would be...You can not discharge her to home, it is unsafe for me to care for her. Or anything to the same effect.
Best of luck; hope you will update us.
Don't wait for release date. Start telling dr and hospital NOW that she cannot return to the home upon release - safety issues with no one there 24 hrs a day.