She started on the third day wanting to go home. She has a mild cognitive disorder and doesn't understand that there's more to her therapy than walking to the nurse's station and back. We keep telling her it's up to the doctor/staff when she will be released, but she doesn't believe us. Now she's on day 20, and they are saying they are concerned about her safety living alone so they want to keep her a while longer. She can't qualify for Medicaid to pay for AL due to slightly exceeding the income limit. She asks daily if she is going home today, and the staff is so vague and won't give us any kind of timeline. Do I keep her there being miserable but safe, or take her out against medical advice where she may be unsafe at home but happy? I can only afford someone to look in on her for about 10 hours a week. Family visits on the weekend.
MOST newly placed residents, regardless of the type of facility, suffer difficult periods of adjustment when entering care.
Typically, we as caregivers suffer more than they do. I know that was the case when my LO entered her very nice MC.
After a few months, she loved the “hotel” where she was living.
Risking the damage that can occur from a fall risk is not worth putting an LO through the pain.
ETA that Lealonnie1 beat me to it, with additional great info as well. 😊
My father faced the exact same situation when he was in rehab back in 2014, so I had a choice as to whether to place him (and mom) in Assisted Living or leave him in the long term care section of the SNF he was in for rehab. I chose Assisted Living and had to hustle to move them out of Independent Living and into AL together. Safety is the #1 goal with elderly parents.
Good luck.
Do you actually plan on moving her home to live alone? SHE pays for the caregiver at home -- not you -- so can she afford that?
Rehab stinks. It stinks for everyone who goes to it, but it's something to get through while working as hard as possible for a successful discharge. Perhaps empathizing with Mom's misery and pointing out that she really does need to work hard to avoid having to return once she's sprung would have some effect. While she's still in there, you could be consulting an attorney who specializes in Medicaid to determine how to get Mom into care, because I have a feeling that's really where she's headed -- not home.