A healthcare question for the braintrust...
 

Please bear with me while I give a little background info. My dad (not a youngin' himself anymore) has been giving one of his elderly friends a ride to a hospital (30 miles away) several times a week for some time now to visit his wife. I don't know many specifics, but she's been there a while, and is showing slow, gradual improvements, the doctors seem to be on board with her recovery and things are progessing slowly...but progressing. There is now a "case worker" involved who seems intent upon transferring his wife to another facility (one is out of state) and both are a good 2 hrs away. This has upset dad a bit, and is creating havoc with his friend and their daughter. If she is relocated, my dad's friend would likely move (along with his daughter who would quit her job locally), so he could continue to be with his wife. This smells like a "profit motivated" case worker from my limited perspective and what I know, and that's what I told my dad. Whatever the motivation, this is NOT in the best interests of the patient, or her family, and their options are very limited. This hospital is part of a supposedly non-profit (yeah right) corporation (Novant). My dad (and his friend) are of the opinion that if his wife is moved, she is simply being shipped off to die. It will absolutely "kill" my dad's friend in the process too. Please don't PARF this thread, I'm looking for REAL advice or suggestions from you guys/gals, and I thank you in advance. This just sucks on so many levels...

Crossing state lines often does weird things to things like paying for assisted living, etc.

"Non-Profit" healthcare means that the top level excecs have super high salaries/bonuses ...

1. Determine what level of care she needs.
2. Look for a local facility that provides it.

I'm not sure if this applies here but everything I have been reading about my healthcare plan being phased out and me needing to transfer providers says this does NOT include someone who is currently receiving ongoing care from their doctor...basically if you're already receiving treatment, you can wait until you're better before moving. Maybe something to look into. Sure wouldn't look good if this case worker moved a patient against their will and away from trusted doctors who were helping her get better. Good luck!

I've gotta go, but will be back later to read all of the responses...keep 'em coming!

KC,
We need more info to have any idea what is going on. I am assuming she is to the point she needs a long term acute care facility (LTAC). Is she in Winston or Charlotte? If she is in Winston-Salem it is very difficult to find LTAC beds in the area--very limited supply with a overwhelming demand. I had patients wait up-wards of over a month for a bed that provided more care than a general nursing home. Sadly, this is not going to get any better with Medicare continuing to decrease reimbursements. I worked for Novant for 5 years in WS and know most of the case managers. PM me if you want to talk, we recently moved to VA and it is the same story here with hardly any local acute care beds. Your dads friend might want to talk to Select Specialty Hospital, they had a very good reputation in Winston-Salem, part of the 6th floor at Forsyth. I know they did have very stringent rules on what insurance plans they accepted.

Well, I knew I came to the right place! Dan, I'm responding specifically to your post 'cause your experience is hitting VERY closer to home. She's currently a patient at Forsyth, and the case worker is wanting to move her to a facility either in Roanoke or Charlotte (according to dad, I think my dad's friend has already visited Charlotte and ruled that one out), so Roanoke is likely where she is heading if this proceeds. I really don't know any more specifics, and I doubt my dad does either. He's just providing taxi service for his friend "in need". Somewhere in my former corporate life (Wachovia and RJ), I actually had Novant at one time but never used 'em. I'm going to take what you have offered and talk to my dad a bit more to see if it's of any assistance to his friend. We are both "outsiders" with no real knowledge of what's going here specifically but I just wanted to run this by the PPOT braintrust. I thank you much, and may very well be back in touch. Thank you ALL!

KC,
Not a problem at all. If you need any further help let me know. Tell your dad's friend to really discuss this issue with the case manager, especially how disrupting moving her out of state will be. The case managers used to be assigned to a particular MD which changes on a weekly basis on the hospital service. Sadly, her options for the Triad area of NC are very limited depending on just how much care she needs. I have heard good things about one of the places here in Roanoke from what patient family's tell me. Good luck and tell your dad thanks for being there for his friend during this time.

If the Daughter is going to quit her job, instead she can move in with Dad,bring Mom home and get in home therapy.

It is very likely that if the daughter quits job to become a caregiver that she could be reimbursed by social security.

Skilled Nursing Facility beds can be VERY hard to locate sometimes. I would be stunned if there were any "profit motive" involved for the case worker. Any facility they talk about transferring them to, go check it out, talk to other residents and family members there, as well as the staff.

Thank you again...I tried calling my dad to see if he had any more info but didn't get an answer. I sincerely appreciate it!!!

I don't really know the specifics, but from what I understand, his daughter would quit her job only if her father moves to be with him. I will also mention the "home therapy" as an option for them to my dad...Thanks! I don't think this is an option however...if the daughter quits her job here to move, I'm pretty sure she'd be job hunting as soon as they did and her dad is "up there" in age (but I don't know how old). As I stated earlier....just a crappy situation for my dad's friend and his family...

Thanks! I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be contacting CarreraDan some more ;)