I apologize if this post sounds odd, but the constant miscommunication from the various facilities is wearing me down. I am 25 and can’t handle the constant visits and micromanaging much longer.
My father has been placed in various short term rehab facilities over the past five months for Physical Therapy. The nursing / rehab facility promised weekly updates on my dad’s care, and have not done so. I have to be the one to call and ask for updates. The most information I get is he gets 10 minutes of Physical Therapy possibly twice a week. (This hasn’t been confirmed.) The rest of the time he spends sitting in a chair, unsupervised, for the rest of the day.
This has lead to me visiting the facility almost daily and providing care that the system lacks. He has gone to different facilities but all of them have similar problems, such as giving him the wrong medications, food that he is allergic to, and making him sit in a bed or chair for most of the day.
It seems like none of the care facilities have or want to provide care he needs and I feel stuck.
I didn't understand the system when I had to go through it in my 50's.
But, here is what I learned from that experience:
There should be a Nurse in Charge, the supervisor. Find out who that person is and ask to schedule a family meeting with the care team. I think it is standard policy for any rehab facility to have this type of meeting on a regular basis. the purpose is to discuss any progress or changes in treatment, a kind of round table for different members of the care team and the family to share their perspective so the group as a whole can be updated and come to a consensus on the direction of treatment.
Is there any reason they are not sharing with you because you are not listed as someone they can share his information with? It is important for medical providers to safeguard their patient's confidential records. When the patient is admitted, either they or their POA will sign a form giving permission to listed individuals to receive information about the patient. If you are not on that list, they may not be able to tell you anything.
F “has mobility issues and used to walk with a walker”. But “because of the poor quality of care he is now bedbound”. No he’s not, he is “sitting in a chair, unsupervised, for the rest of the day” after only 10 minutes of PT. Or he’s flitting between different facilities, all bad. He must be really confused! So are we.
You are in the best position to work out what is going on here. Good luck.
Is your Dad on Medicaid? If not, then someone is paying the bill, or will be paying the bill, or they are mis-reporting his condition to Medicare.
If on the other hand, your Dad is in the facility as a living facility (e.g. independent living or assisted living), 2 times for PT a week is "normal", however, I would think it would be a 50 minute session each. Unfortunately, "living facilities" are not paid by Medicare, so someone is paying his bill at the facility, unless there is fraud involved.
Where does his Medicare Summary Notice go to? I'm assuming he is over 65 and covered in part by Medicare. The Medicare Summary Notice should show all the medical sessions that were filed for Medicare payment.
Where did he live prior to this succession of rehab facilities? What happened to that place? Did he rent or own? Where is he getting his mail?
What I'd do: 1) get an understanding of whether he is in his current facility because of rehab or just a living facility 2) find out who is paying the bill and who is the person who is watching over his care 3) find and tour another facility that is close to where you live or work and seems reputable 4) get some plans in place in your own life so that you can put your life on semi-hold while you get your Dad's life into a controllable state.
It sounds like you will be intimately involved in his affairs for the long haul. (((HUGS)))
P.S. Sorry to disappoint you, however, it is normal for you to have to ask for updates, rather than they pushing the updates to you. However, the vagueness of the updates and what is described, tells me that he is NOT in a rehab facility, but in an assisted living facility. If that is the case, go find a facility whose care you can trust, for the rest of his life. Ask for references, read the reviews, ask about waiting lists. You can do this....
Your father pays for his own care, Not from your own funds. He is Medicare age that is senior age starting at 65, so it’s his expenses with Medicare health insurance. If he runs out his funds, contact his county on aging for a Medicaid expert to help your father.
the only real solution is to visit daily and check
i doubt any of them will give you update time and I doubt you’ll have much success is pushing that
they just don’t do it
You say your father went to rehab "against his will", which probably means that the medical personnel or a social worker made the selection and probably chose whatever was easiest to get into. This carries a risk of low quality care. Also, as others have suggested, rehab doesn't do much with diet and generally expects the patient to be able to deal with their chronic conditions on their own. My mom has diabetes and she was responsible for choosing her meals and following her diet (and often the options of things she could eat were pretty limited). For patients with cognitive problems who are prescribed rehab, there is a significant gap between what they need and what the system is set up to provide. I guess the only remedy is a family member like yourself to spend a lot of time on the premises to make sure the patient is getting the care they need.
- “My father has been placed in various short term rehab facilities over the past five months for Physical Therapy”. Who placed him? Who signed the contract to pay the bills?
- He was “sent to a short term rehab against his will by firemen due to him falling once at home”. Firemen aren’t able to place him ‘against his will’, and they won’t sign to pay the bills!
- “He has gone to different facilities”. Who arranged the moves?
- “He gets 10 minutes of Physical Therapy possibly twice a week”. !!!
- More than one facility has “the wrong medications”, and gives him “food that he is allergic to”. Why are all the local facilities hopeless on these basic issues?
It sounds as though F may be making all the decisions himself. “He can be difficult to care for so that may be a reason the staff refuse to help him”. What sort of ‘difficult’?
It also sounds as though you think F calls the shots, on you as well as on the facility. Perhaps you should also decide that you don’t “want to provide care he needs”. Consider not turning up.
Is your father incapable at this time for managing his care at all?
If you are POA are you included in the care plan conferences that are required by law?
Another thing you could do is hire an aide to visit him at least part of the day. The aide could do the things you do, and this would give you a break. If you're POA you should have access to dad's money, and you'd use his money to pay for the aide.
More info would be helpful.
Very best wishes, Margaret
My father is in his late 70s. He got sent to a short term rehab against his will by firemen due to him falling once at home. He has mobility issues and used to walk with a walker. But because of the poor quality of care he has received in the home, he is now bed bound.
The facilites don’t keep certain medications in stock and don’t keep food allergy records. He can be difficult to care for so that may be a reason the staff refuse to help him.
I just don’t understand why I am paying for these “services” if I have to be there daily to supervise workers who are getting paid.