Can I take over power of attorney from my step mother, for my dad?

KD, is your dad's wife having him transferred from the hospital, where he is getting acute care, to a rehab facility (often housed in the same complex as long term, skilled nursing care?)?

This is the most frequent trajectory for stroke patients-- to go to rehab. Just make sure that you understand what is actually happening before you object.

Who thinks that this next step for dad is not appropriate?

Find out what dad's day to day care needs are, not from family members, but from the SW department at the hospital. And find out if dad has developed vascular dementia as a result of the stroke.

Please come back and tell us how this works out.

Kdenny, it is very common for a hospital to place a person who had a stroke into a Rehab/Nursing facility. The reason for this is so that your Dad can get the physical therapy he needs to get better, and this is in your Dad's best interest. If you are allowed, please learn all you can about strokes and what is needed. Let the hospital guide you to what is best.

When my Dad had a heart attack, my Mom refused to let him go to a Rehab/Nursing facility. She thought she could take care of him. Dad had physical therapy at home but it was a slow recovery that way, as there were no physical therapy machines at my parents house that would help a person gain the strength they need. Poor Mom was so exhausted as this was much more than what she had bargain. If she had to do it all over again, she would have had my Dad be in Rehab/Nursing until he was able to function at home.

Please note that only your Dad can changed his Power of Attorney to another person. You cannot do this. Usually a POA has two person's named, a primary and a secondary. That way if the primary is unable to perform as POA for whatever reason, the secondary takes over.

If your father is still in icu, it is probably premature to decide what his long-term care needs are -- unless he has been failing in the period leading up to the stroke and has really needed a care facility for some time. Otherwise, as others have pointed out, there would typically be several weeks of rehab for him to get his strength back, and to evaluate what needs to come next.

I am curious. What do you consider to be in your father's best interest when he is discharged?