This month POH Medical Center releases a 10-page publication devoted entirely to the concerns of Senior Living and healthcare. To receive a copy, call 248.338.5385. Below are 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.
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.
‘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.?
‘We do this because so many people need really good advice at a time like this. 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.
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. Eventually the situation becomes overwhelming.
‘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 ? 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 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 and social security pensions allow them to live comfortably here. According to Fox, when you add up the actual costs of everyday living, very often, assisted living truly is 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. Caring for a senior requires a professional, yet tender touch.?
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. 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.
‘From a financial standpoint, it is helpful when your loved one has been hospitalized for three days prior to entering the nursing home,? Lawson advises. ‘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. 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.?