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They are very different & the cost is also.
If this is all private pay by her and she has an estate with a good amount of money, then it's not so much of an issue as to where she is placed. But if she has limited means and you anticipate Medicaid then it's important that she is somewhere that takes Medicaid for LTC. You really don't want to have to move her again in a couple of years.
Take notes especially of what diseases they are using to admit her. It's important that you know if she had dementia or coronary artery disease or whatever as you may get a call or letter from her insurance company asking all this in order for them to pay. Just being old and not able to do is not enough, she needs to have things wrong with her that establishes "medical necessity". For example, my mom refused to take most prescriptions but she can really do alot for herself and can seem very competent and seems like she doesn't need LTC. But actually needs to have skilled nursing in order to monitor her Exelon patch and other medications
and her weight. Her weight loss while in IL (more than 10% in 6 months) was important in establishing her need for LTC.
My suggestion is to take:
-a list of all her medications even those OTC. Please go thru her room and cabinets, you never know what "health" tablet is out there.
- list her cognitive skills: she can/cannot - bathe, wash her hair, get dressed, understand what the weather is and dress appropriately, cut food with a fork or knive, use the restroom appropriately, knows basic current events, can tell time.
- list what she is good at or likes/liked to do. This will help social services to get her to the arts & crafts classes, or to Vespers or mass, or whatever.
- list unusual items - for us it was hallucinations...., my mom sees animals and patterns on the floor and has a distinctive shuffle when she walks, she probably has Lewy Body Dementia, which is quite different from Alz. This was helpful to the staff in how to deal with her and the type of medications.
- guardianship. If you are not DPOA & MPOA for her you should really meet with an eldercare attorney to get these done. All of her financial & medical issues can be handled by you within the power that POA"S do. True guardianship or conservatorship is a whole different legal status and is alot more regulated usually with court supervision. The facility will want a copy of your POA's or guardianship.
-DNR - most facilities will require this be on file and also sometimes in the residents room. If your mom is competent she will need to decide what to do and sign off on it and her MD will need to sign also. This is sticky but you need to discuss with her in advance of the meeting. If she wants to be DNR then fine but if she wants to be maintained on life support then fine but whatever it needs to have the paperwork done.This is a difficult subject for most of us but needs to be done.
- Funeral home info. Social services usually has a sheet to fill out for this. Just in case something happens and you cannot be reached. If you don't have this already in place most facilities will require you set something up within 30 days of her arrival. For example, my MIL is the spouse of a WWII vet and will be buried in the national cemetary in Santa Fe, we had to provide to the NH the name of the funeral home that will take and transfer her. This had not be done or dealt with but now has as it was required for admission.
- Most places have a "face sheet" which is the cover for the residents file with her general info and the info on the AR - authorized representative - which is you. Please look it over to make sure all the info especially insurance #'s are correct.
- Her birth certificate or info to establish citizenship. If she ever had a passport, that is the best even if it has expired. If she was naturialized then a copy of those papers. If she's private pay then they really don't care but if she ever needs to go on Medicaid then you will need to have that info anyway.
One thing that is real helpful is to make a copy for yourself & the facility of her:
drivers license or id, all insurance cards, her social security card, citizenship documentations, retirement/social security and any other annuity beginning of the year statement (this will be very important if you end up applying for Medicaid). If any of these are linked to a spouse, then all that information for them too. For example, my mom's annuity is based on my dead dad's retirement and I need his info to access the account, even though he died in the 1980's.
Also when she moves in mark everything with her name and also initials - not just her clothes, but the back of all pictures, her clock, watch, etc.. And only take what she really will need. Assume that 1/3 of it will disappear so leave those special things at home or give them away.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Also, someone in these posts mentioned that your mom may be ok in an assisted living facility. After spending 4 months between hospitals and rehab (she initially broke her hip and then developed MRSA, c-diff, pneumonia, blood clots, etc. - but beat them all) I wasn't sure if she would need a nursing home or ALF (she lived alone before). Upon visiting the ALF's I found many would not have been good for mom - she needed a lot more done for her and really couldn't be accommodated by staff there (and without adding on substantially to the cost). Nursing homes seemed too extreme. Luckily, I found a small (35 patient) ALF, that was just the right mix - sorta inbetween an ALF & nursing home. They did a lot for the residents - much more than any other large (big name) ALF and didn't charge for every little thing mom needed assistance with. The staff treated all the residents like one big family and mom loved the place. It was the perfect place - she spent a month there before dying. So do your research on ALF's if you think your mom might be able to handle it. Although moms ALF was not as fancy as some, it provided everything mom needed, and it was not depressing as some of the nursing homes were. Good luck.