Ruth Jose, LPN (l) is the owner of Rocking Chair Home Care Center where Dorothy Bottomley resides and where Dorothy's son, Richard, hopes she'll be able to stay because it is a nurturing, safe and family-type environment for his mother. (Courtesy photo)
GAYLORD — Richard Bottomley is facing a difficult issue encountered by millions of adult children in the U.S.
His mother, Dorothy, 93, can no longer make her own decisions, and he wants to insure that her final years are comfortable.
About six years ago when his mother first exhibited signs of dementia, Bottomley moved her from the Alpine Alten Zimmer apartments to an Adult Foster Care (AFC) home.
“I moved her to Rocking Chair Home Care, Bottomley said. “It is licensed for four residents, and it’s a family-type setting. Clients and staff eat together, and my mother is able to have her own room. The owner is an LPN (licensed practical nurse).”
The cost for residing in the home was $1,900 per month initially, but it has risen to $2,500 as her condition required more services.
Bottomley, however, feels the price is well worth it.
“She’s happy and gets good care,” he said. “There is a large living room where the residents can sit with 15 bird feeders outside the window and a huge TV set and aquarium inside. When she first moved in I’d take her out to dinner a couple times a week, but as the dementia progressed, it would make her anxious and she’d fret about where we were going. She wanted to be home where she felt safe.”
As his mother’s guardian, Bottomley realized recently that she would run out of her savings within a year and would need to go on Medicaid. He has researched and found that it would be easier to place her in a nursing home where Medicaid will pay an average of $6,618 rather than keep her at the AFC home where she is thriving.
He feels the move to a nursing home would be traumatic to his mother. She wouldn’t be able to have her own room and there would be a lower ratio of staff to clients to provide services. It also would cost taxpayers far more money, which doesn’t make sense to him in these difficult economic times.
Although some seniors require the services provided by nursing homes, and Dorothy may at some point, professionals who provide direct care agree that the move can be quite traumatic for many seniors.
Laurie Sauer is the director of the Area Agency on Aging Region 9, which covers Otsego County. According to her, there are some programs that could help Bottomley’s mother stay in the AFC home under certain circumstances, but funds are limited.
“We are supportive of community–based options that help people stay in place,” Sauer said. “There are programs like Michigan’s MI Choice that can arrange a Medicaid waiver for AFC homes. Unfortunately, there is a huge waiting list.”
While room and board is included in Medicaid’s payments to nursing homes, that cost is not covered for those residing in AFC homes. Only documented services are paid. Many people would be unable to cover the costs of room and board at an AFC placement.
Ruth Jose, owner of the Rocking Chair Home Care Center, has begun the long process of applying for Medicaid eligibility and worries about the additional hours she’ll have to spend documenting every minute of the services she provides. She also worries about the many elderly who won’t be able to afford the room and board.
“I charge $1,700 to $2,500 a month, depending on services,” Jose said.”I can’t tell you how many times someone wanted to move into my home, but their income was only around $800. They had to go to a nursing home instead. It’s heart wrenching.”
How to keep costs down and the frail elderly safe and comfortable in their community has become a national discussion as the aging population increases.
A story in the New York Times reported that some states have been experimenting with programs since the early 1980s that make foster care more available. The newspaper contacted aging experts and AFC staff and residents in five of those states and the conclusion was that the programs were extremely successful economically and in terms of the residents’ well-being.
Some of the elderly paid for their own foster care and some had their care paid by Supplemental Security Income. Some states had received waivers from the federal government to use Medicaid long-term nursing funds for the AFC homes.
Legislative committees in Lansing are currently examining the issue of elder residential services and are looking for input. Bottomley has written a letter he intends to send to his representatives at the state and federal levels. Others with an opinion on the subject are encouraged to do the same.
His mother, Dorothy, 93, can no longer make her own decisions, and he wants to insure that her final years are comfortable.
About six years ago when his mother first exhibited signs of dementia, Bottomley moved her from the Alpine Alten Zimmer apartments to an Adult Foster Care (AFC) home.
“I moved her to Rocking Chair Home Care, Bottomley said. “It is licensed for four residents, and it’s a family-type setting. Clients and staff eat together, and my mother is able to have her own room. The owner is an LPN (licensed practical nurse).”
The cost for residing in the home was $1,900 per month initially, but it has risen to $2,500 as her condition required more services.
Bottomley, however, feels the price is well worth it.
“She’s happy and gets good care,” he said. “There is a large living room where the residents can sit with 15 bird feeders outside the window and a huge TV set and aquarium inside. When she first moved in I’d take her out to dinner a couple times a week, but as the dementia progressed, it would make her anxious and she’d fret about where we were going. She wanted to be home where she felt safe.”
As his mother’s guardian, Bottomley realized recently that she would run out of her savings within a year and would need to go on Medicaid. He has researched and found that it would be easier to place her in a nursing home where Medicaid will pay an average of $6,618 rather than keep her at the AFC home where she is thriving.
He feels the move to a nursing home would be traumatic to his mother. She wouldn’t be able to have her own room and there would be a lower ratio of staff to clients to provide services. It also would cost taxpayers far more money, which doesn’t make sense to him in these difficult economic times.
Although some seniors require the services provided by nursing homes, and Dorothy may at some point, professionals who provide direct care agree that the move can be quite traumatic for many seniors.
Laurie Sauer is the director of the Area Agency on Aging Region 9, which covers Otsego County. According to her, there are some programs that could help Bottomley’s mother stay in the AFC home under certain circumstances, but funds are limited.
“We are supportive of community–based options that help people stay in place,” Sauer said. “There are programs like Michigan’s MI Choice that can arrange a Medicaid waiver for AFC homes. Unfortunately, there is a huge waiting list.”
While room and board is included in Medicaid’s payments to nursing homes, that cost is not covered for those residing in AFC homes. Only documented services are paid. Many people would be unable to cover the costs of room and board at an AFC placement.
Ruth Jose, owner of the Rocking Chair Home Care Center, has begun the long process of applying for Medicaid eligibility and worries about the additional hours she’ll have to spend documenting every minute of the services she provides. She also worries about the many elderly who won’t be able to afford the room and board.
“I charge $1,700 to $2,500 a month, depending on services,” Jose said.”I can’t tell you how many times someone wanted to move into my home, but their income was only around $800. They had to go to a nursing home instead. It’s heart wrenching.”
How to keep costs down and the frail elderly safe and comfortable in their community has become a national discussion as the aging population increases.
A story in the New York Times reported that some states have been experimenting with programs since the early 1980s that make foster care more available. The newspaper contacted aging experts and AFC staff and residents in five of those states and the conclusion was that the programs were extremely successful economically and in terms of the residents’ well-being.
Some of the elderly paid for their own foster care and some had their care paid by Supplemental Security Income. Some states had received waivers from the federal government to use Medicaid long-term nursing funds for the AFC homes.
Legislative committees in Lansing are currently examining the issue of elder residential services and are looking for input. Bottomley has written a letter he intends to send to his representatives at the state and federal levels. Others with an opinion on the subject are encouraged to do the same.
Contact Lorene Parshall at 732-1111
or lorene@gaylord
heraldtimes.com
Source http://www.petoskeynews.com
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