By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or
[email protected] to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
*If I am consenting on behalf of someone else, I have the proper authorization to do so. By clicking Get My Results, you agree to our
Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our
Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
I honestly don't know if your insurance will cover this. One might cover part and the other will cover the rest, although I can't see you not having to pay for some part of this. My MIL put one of these in and I know she has great health coverage, but the lift was not totally paid for by ins. She has a VERY long one, many stairs--so the cost will be different for short runs of stairs as opposed to long ones.
You never know if you don't ask. And maybe check the policy first. Sometimes these things are simply NOT covered, no matter the need, and sometimes they are covered almost at 100%. Depends on the ins co.
Sometime ago I watched one of the DIY repair programs; a tv contractor redid a stair lift installation which hadn't been properly installed and couldn't safely be used. This is a job for a pro, someone who works for companies that install these.
For oxygen upstairs, you might ask her pulmonary doctor to script for a few portables which can just be left upstairs. Hauling tanks up and down is too dangerous. I haven't experienced any oxygen use since my father passed over 3 years ago, but at that time we had the large E tanks as well as the portables, which were battery operated. Someone could just charge them and keep them upstairs. That would eliminate moving equipment up and down, although I'm guessing she already has these, as there's no way a concentrator could safely be moved upstairs by someone other than a Tarzan type person.
I wouldn't contact the insurance companies directly; they'll probably just tell you that you need to get a script first. What you can do though is read up on the various brands of lifts so you can converse with the contractor and understand everything necessary for safe operation.
I have some bigger concerns though, and that's living alone and going up and down stairs. Do you or someone else stay there when she's ready for a shower?
Is there any way she would be willing to come to your house and shower, w/o going up a flight of stairs? This might unsettle you, but I hope it merely raises the issue of concern for the stairs. One of the neighbors with whom my father grew up had vision problems, used a cane, and in her late 90s, was understandably frail. Her daughter and SIL lived out of state.
One day she fell down the stairs, had no medical alert at that time, and laid on the landing for 4 days before her daughter was able to get someone to check on her, and get help. She survived, but one leg was shorter than the other for the rest of her life; apparently that leg was injured in the fall. That's always plagued me - being alone w/o any resources.
If your GM still wants to shower, get a medical alert pendant she can wear when she goes upstairs and get an exterior key lock box for access by emergency personnel. It would also be wise if a trusted neighbor could stay there during that time, or even if she called a neighbor before and after for safe check-in.
We bought a used Acorn lift from a medical supply store which also installed it. It cost us about $2600 vs. $6,000 for new. (A new one for a curved staircase will run around $10k.)
https://www.payingforseniorcare.com/financial-assistance/stair-lifts-medicare
It may be time for her to downsize from her two story house into a place that is suitable for an elder. Best wishes to you and your grandmother.