This month POH Medical Center releases a special 10-page edition of its Breakthroughs publication, devoted entirely to the concerns of Senior Living and Healthcare. It contains important information about stroke and physical therapy; back pain and diagnostic testing; but it also identifies people who can help you with in-home care issues as well as Alzheimer’s, assisted living and nursing home care. To receive a copy, call 248.338.5385. Below are a few edited excerpts.
Resources for an Aging Population
There is reassuring news for everyone who oversees the needs of an aging senior. POH Discharge Planner Sue Stepanski and her staff bring solutions to what could otherwise be an overwhelming experience.
‘Family members are relieved once they learn we will help them through the maze of senior healthcare options,? she explains. Often they have already spoken with the agencies only to get nowhere. We’re able to find a solution because we know our way through the process and because we know where to turn for help.?
POH’s dedicated team will:
? Assess the senior’s home to determine what additions are needed to allow the senior to function well at home.
? Arrange for necessary medical equipment and supplies to be delivered to the home, including items such as a hospital bed, wheelchair or oxygen.
? Arrange for a visiting nurse, if needed.
? Refer the senior for physical therapy evaluations.
? If a nursing home is needed, analyze the patient’s medical and financial needs, then match the senior with an appropriate residence. Once the family tours the site and deems it suitable, transportation is arranged, usually by ambulance.
‘Finding a nursing home is the most challenging obstacle families face when caring for an aging loved one,? says Stepanski. ‘People tell us that no other hospital goes as far as we do to help families in this matter.?
Stepanski’s team will even show family members how to pay for the care and where they can find money to defray expenses if Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance coverage aren’t enough. At the same time, there is no charge for their discharge planning services. ‘We do this because so many people need really good advice at a time like this. They are taking on an important endeavor. We just want them to know they are not alone.?
Assisted Living
It almost always begins this way: a daughter sees telltale signs that Mother isn’t quite the responsible person she should be. At times Mom forgets to pay her bills, to turn off the stove or to take her medicine. Her personal hygiene is also becoming an issue ? mother no longer bathes regularly and she has trouble dressing.
The daughter believes that if she spends more time with her mother on a regular basis, she can prevent a disaster, allowing mom to live in her own home for a while longer. All of this continues until one day an overwrought daughter breaks down in tears, realizing that something has to change.
‘Many seniors do not need nursing home care, but they are frail and need help with the activities of daily living,? explains Gail Fox, Community Relations Director for Sunrise Assisted Living in Clarkston.
‘While an assisted living arrangement can be a difficult transition for them in the beginning, many seniors soon realize that this was the best move they could ever have made. Without the responsibilities of home care or maintenance ? and with someone to cook, clean and do laundry for them on a regular basis ? seniors often thrive on their newfound freedom.? Beyond that, they have someone near 24-hours a day to lend a hand with troublesome activities or to ward off loneliness.
Sunrise Assisted Living in Clarkston is a private pay arrangement and does not accept Medicare funding for residents. However, this does not mean it is financially out of reach for seniors who have worked productively and planned for their future. Their combined savings, investments, longevity care insurance policies and social security pensions allow them to live comfortably here.
According to Fox, when you add up the actual costs of everyday living, staying in one’s home is not always the most economical choice. Begin by comparing a home’s annual costs including utilities, taxes and maintenance. Factor in the cost of personal expenses (food), as well as fees for in-home caregivers, equipment and supplies. Very often, assisted living becomes the more economical arrangement.
Nursing Home Care
Barbara Lawson, Lake Orion Nursing Center Administrator, knows first-hand the gut-wrenching emotions that must be faced when a loved one can no longer care for themselves. ‘You find yourself so conflicted. You know you need help. But is it really the right thing to do ? turning your loved one over to a nursing home?
‘In all actuality,? she pauses comfortingly, ‘you are absolutely doing the right thing. Admitting that someone you love needs more care than you know how to give is not cruel. It is a responsible act of love.
‘Caring for a senior requires a professional, yet tender touch,? says Lawson. ‘You want caregivers who really love their jobs and know how to relate compassionately to elderly people.?
It helps to know that good nursing homes, like Lake Orion Nursing Center, are a far cry from the old institutions of yesteryear. Warm, touches flourish everywhere, encouraging residents to find the joy that is still possible in their lives. Here, the staff has cultivated a wheelchair garden at arm level where they invite residents to rekindle a passion for gardening. On good days, the cook fires up the outdoor grill, creating a favorite gathering spot for patio conversation.
Like other good nursing homes, the Lake Orion Nursing Center often has a waiting list ? so it is important that you begin planning early if you think you will be needing their services. For those who have never been faced with these types of decisions before, Barbara Lawson offers a few words of advice.
‘From a financial standpoint, it is helpful when your loved one has been hospitalized for three days prior to entering the nursing home. Medicare will then pick up many of the costs for the next three months, giving you time to make important decisions.
‘Also remember that Medicaid will pay for nursing home care only if a resident is down to their last $2,000. (You should talk to a lawyer to be sure you understand the legal definition of this.) ‘But we don’t advise you to let the situation go this far before you begin the process. You have to have some money to get into a nursing home. When someone is down to their last $10,000, you need to make some key decisions.
‘Most of all, we encourage you to talk to your loved ones early about their future care. That way everyone involved will be prepared for the inevitable decision.?
At POH Medical Center, the answers seem so obvious. Where will seniors go if they fall down and hurt themselves? If they have a seizure? An unexplained nosebleed? Prostate Cancer? Or they need a hip replaced? Why ? close to home in their own communities! When you need help, remember, POH is there, with Emergency Care Campuses in Clarkston, Oxford and Pontiac. Call 248.338.5000 or visit www.pohmedical.org for information.
