Better at Home
Donation protected
I am near tears from frustration as I write this. As many of you know, my 92-yr-old father fell on Sunday, June 29 due to complications from a UTI & pneumonia. Thankfully, he did not hurt himself during this fall. He spent 7 days in the hospital at St. Joe Medical Center, and was then transferred to the Holy Cross Rehab (on Dugdale Rd. in South Bend). They came highly recommended and I had high hopes for his recovery, as he was sent there to build up strength so that he might return home.
On July 20, well before his 20 days in rehab was up, and with little improvement in his condition, Holy Cross transferred him (without notifying me) to their long-term care unit. However, he was still doing physical therapy to build up strength. In the three weeks that he as been in long-term care and doing daily physical therapy, his condition has gone from bad to worse. (Every day in long-term care after his initial 20 days is costing me $178 per DAY, and that is with the Medicare co-pay.)
When he fell, my father lived at home, could prepare his own food, could feed himself, could dress himself, could bath himself, could stand without assistance, could walk with only a cane, and could use the bathroom on his own. As of right now, Holy Cross is telling me that the only thing he is capable of doing for himself is feeding himself. And this is AFTER receiving their physical therapy for a MONTH! The only thing they have said is that sometimes this happens with old people.
The minute I mentioned that I was making plans to get home health care for him and remove him from Holy Cross, they have been uncooperative. On Friday, Aug. 7, they informed me that because he was not improving significantly with the physical therapy that they would be removing him from the program. This means that Medicare will no longer pay for ANY of the cost of the nursing home. Without the Medicare co-pay, the daily cost to me is $362 per DAY.
My father is a veteran. He was part of the Occupation Forces in Germany after World War II. The VA has been wonderful! They are paying for all hospital costs not covered by the Medicare. They also pay for 30 respite days a year for the home health aid I am hiring. Additionally, they will provide a health aid 10 hrs a week to give my home health aid a break. The VA will also provide my father with any equipment he needs to live at home, such as: hospital bed, wheelchair, toilet riser, shower chair, etc. etc. This is where my frustration comes in.
On Thursday, July 30, I asked the social worker at Holy Cross to contact the VA with the pertinent medical records and diagnosis for my father, as well as a list of all equipment that he might need, so that the VA could order it. This is part of the social worker's job at Holy Cross. Not until Friday, August 7, more than a full week after my request did the social worker make contact with the VA. And then, all she did was send an email saying, "What do you need?" On Thursday, August 6, when on the telephone with the social worker I attempted to tell her what the VA needed. She interrupted me saying, "I know what they need. I do this all the time."
I emailed and faxed all day yesterday to no avail. No response from the social worker to either myself or the VA. Today, I spoke to her supervisor, who shouted at me and interrupted me when I attempted to explain the problem and why I am so frustrated. FINALLY, she agreed to send the VA the documents they need today. Of course, it is the end of the day and the doctor at the VA is already gone for the day, so another day lost.
The social worker at the VA said that once she gets the documents and orders the equipment, it will take from 10 - 14 days for the equipment to arrive. I knew this. This is why I asked Holy Cross to send the documentation to the VA back on July 30 . . . when Medicare was still paying a co-pay for the nursing home. Because of the ineptness and laziness of the social worker at Holy Cross,, it will cost me between $362 (if I leave him in the nursing home)-$750 (bring him home & rent the equipment he needs) a day. Doing this for 14 days, will cost me $7,000. This will eat up half of the funds I planned to use to pay the home health aid. Should it take longer than 14 days, I could be in danger of not having enough funds to hire a home health aid. This means he would NEVER get to come home.
I never planned to do a Go Fund Me page for this, but I am frustrated, exhausted, and don't know what else to do.
Thank you for the time you took to read this, and for any donation you can make. All money raised will go to pay for equipment rental or the wages of the home health aid.
I would also ask for your prayers for my father's return to his former good health.
His daughter,
Amanda Valerie Judd
On July 20, well before his 20 days in rehab was up, and with little improvement in his condition, Holy Cross transferred him (without notifying me) to their long-term care unit. However, he was still doing physical therapy to build up strength. In the three weeks that he as been in long-term care and doing daily physical therapy, his condition has gone from bad to worse. (Every day in long-term care after his initial 20 days is costing me $178 per DAY, and that is with the Medicare co-pay.)
When he fell, my father lived at home, could prepare his own food, could feed himself, could dress himself, could bath himself, could stand without assistance, could walk with only a cane, and could use the bathroom on his own. As of right now, Holy Cross is telling me that the only thing he is capable of doing for himself is feeding himself. And this is AFTER receiving their physical therapy for a MONTH! The only thing they have said is that sometimes this happens with old people.
The minute I mentioned that I was making plans to get home health care for him and remove him from Holy Cross, they have been uncooperative. On Friday, Aug. 7, they informed me that because he was not improving significantly with the physical therapy that they would be removing him from the program. This means that Medicare will no longer pay for ANY of the cost of the nursing home. Without the Medicare co-pay, the daily cost to me is $362 per DAY.
My father is a veteran. He was part of the Occupation Forces in Germany after World War II. The VA has been wonderful! They are paying for all hospital costs not covered by the Medicare. They also pay for 30 respite days a year for the home health aid I am hiring. Additionally, they will provide a health aid 10 hrs a week to give my home health aid a break. The VA will also provide my father with any equipment he needs to live at home, such as: hospital bed, wheelchair, toilet riser, shower chair, etc. etc. This is where my frustration comes in.
On Thursday, July 30, I asked the social worker at Holy Cross to contact the VA with the pertinent medical records and diagnosis for my father, as well as a list of all equipment that he might need, so that the VA could order it. This is part of the social worker's job at Holy Cross. Not until Friday, August 7, more than a full week after my request did the social worker make contact with the VA. And then, all she did was send an email saying, "What do you need?" On Thursday, August 6, when on the telephone with the social worker I attempted to tell her what the VA needed. She interrupted me saying, "I know what they need. I do this all the time."
I emailed and faxed all day yesterday to no avail. No response from the social worker to either myself or the VA. Today, I spoke to her supervisor, who shouted at me and interrupted me when I attempted to explain the problem and why I am so frustrated. FINALLY, she agreed to send the VA the documents they need today. Of course, it is the end of the day and the doctor at the VA is already gone for the day, so another day lost.
The social worker at the VA said that once she gets the documents and orders the equipment, it will take from 10 - 14 days for the equipment to arrive. I knew this. This is why I asked Holy Cross to send the documentation to the VA back on July 30 . . . when Medicare was still paying a co-pay for the nursing home. Because of the ineptness and laziness of the social worker at Holy Cross,, it will cost me between $362 (if I leave him in the nursing home)-$750 (bring him home & rent the equipment he needs) a day. Doing this for 14 days, will cost me $7,000. This will eat up half of the funds I planned to use to pay the home health aid. Should it take longer than 14 days, I could be in danger of not having enough funds to hire a home health aid. This means he would NEVER get to come home.
I never planned to do a Go Fund Me page for this, but I am frustrated, exhausted, and don't know what else to do.
Thank you for the time you took to read this, and for any donation you can make. All money raised will go to pay for equipment rental or the wages of the home health aid.
I would also ask for your prayers for my father's return to his former good health.
His daughter,
Amanda Valerie Judd
Organizer
Amanda Judd
Organizer
Mishawaka, IN
