[SCadaddle]

Been there, done all that, lost my Dad, two of my sisters to cancer, and one of my deceased sister's son (my nephew) to an O.D. all in the span of 13 months. Resolution of 3 intertwined estates took another 3 years wasted time and money on attorneys and I suffered 2 heart attacks. But I did find out just exactly who my remaining 2 siblings were, and they certainly weren't who I thought they were. Get ready. Buckle up.


Tip #1: You'd probably never think about it, but a simple Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in the elderly will lead them to act irrational and goofy. So you rule that out first.

Tip #2: At least as of 4 or 5 years ago, the medicare system worked as thus: IF something winds them up in the hospital, make damn sure they are officially "admitted" and not just there "under observation". IF they can remain admitted to the hospital for at least 3 days and 3 nights (double check me on that), then they would qualify to be discharged to a "swing bed rehab". Now you get to ask around and find out which of the places you do NOT want your parent to wind up in, but rather the pick of the litter from the knowledge of people in the community that have been through this. The social worker at the hospital will probably provide you with a list of places to choose, and ask you to mark them as choice #1, #2, #3 etc. and they will make the calls to see if there is a bed/room available. DO NOT LET THEM RUSH YOU INTO A DECISION! Physically GO to the places that people you trust suggest and meet the staff, take a walk around, for God's sake use your NOSE and then make your choice of where to get discharged to. And if they don't have a bed available, we'll just stay here in the hospital until they do. This will typically get you 30 days of room and board with rehab therapy. 30 days to figure out your next move. I think after 90 days of "wellness" you can go back to the swing bed IF they wind up in the hospital again for the minimum 3 days-3 nights. There is a fixed number of days one can spend in the swing bed system per year, and you'd be working against the balance of those days. I don't remember now just how many days that was/is but the first 30 are pretty much a given. Now, when it comes to the "rehab", the ticket is to show improvement over the course of the stay. My Dad at age 96 walked 400 feet with his walker on the first day in. I told him that wasn't too bright! IF the rehab activity is painful or uncomfortable, DO NOT let your parent/whoever tell the therapist "That is too difficult, is painful and I'm not going to do it!" They'll kick you out for this! So, the better approach is "That is too difficult, is painful, can we try something else?". The therapist will change things up and therapy will continue until the therapist thinks you've peaked out on what you can do, which first time around happens on about oh, day 30.

I wouldn't wish what you are about to embark upon to my worst enemy, if I even had one. Good luck, I'll check back into this thread as it goes.