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My son Craig is 57 I'm 82. It's becoming difficult for me to assist him to doctor's visits. He is driven to a nearby dialysis center four times a week withoug personal assistance. He had a stroke in 2012 and he's still in a wheelchair.  He can talk but rarely does. I don't think he's physically or mentally sharp enough to go solo to other doctor visits.

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Believe or not, there are doctors in some areas making house calls now; my mother's new one is going to her place every three months. Could you find one there, maybe?
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Does youur son need (or have already) a legal Guardian? Does he look after his own finances? Some people have the need for both a Guardian for medical / life choices & a Trustee for financial matters. Sometimes a disability trust is set up by a parent to provide for their future.

At a care level, a Case Manager may be required. To oversee his needs - including arranging suport workers for medical appointments.

It may be useful to speak to a disability service for advice on how to have your son supported. Is there is stroke or carer advice line where you live?
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So young.

No, the Facility does not send a staff member with the resident. They may set up transportation but no one accompanies them.
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At Moms NH in NY a CNA always accompanied a resident if they were flying solo and needed help. Depending on the abilities of the resident, when the admin would set up an offsite doctor appointment they would check to see if a loved one would be riding along in the transport or at least meeting the person at the doctor. (In most cases she already knew the answer...) If the resident wasn’t capable of handling the appointment solo, the admin arranged a CNA to accompany them. They had a few floaters on staff who primarily had this job. I would check with the nursing home, and maybe put a call in to the ombudsman just for clarification. I don’t know if it was a state law or just their policy.
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No, sadly. It is up to friends and or loved ones to accompany residents to non emergency medical appointments
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No, they’re not. Not in GA anyway. They are only responsible for the transportation to & from. Twice my Mom was sent last minute for CT scan at a hospital & neither my brother or I were able to be there. Everything still went along fine & the nurse from the facility filled me in later.
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Unfortunately I don’t think so. There is probably not enough staff there to leave and be gone for hours accompanying one person to a doctor’s appointment.
Since he goes to dialysis utilize the nephrologist there to help manage his conditions as the nephrologist is required to make rounds once per month or more.
What other specialists does he go to? If no one can go with him ask the staff to set up a three way call or have them put you on speaker while your son is at the visit so you can hear what is going on.
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Barbara I think it is very wise of you to think ahead about how your son will continue to be supported. It isn't only medical visits: in the future there will be quite a wide range of decisions to be made in his best interests that he may not be able to manage by himself, and you will want peace of mind knowing that he has the right people in his corner.

I've had a very quick look at services in your area but haven't yet found anything ideal. What you want is a health advocate, or wellbeing advocate, or somebody with a job title along those lines. If I were you I should contact your local Area Agency on Aging and ask their advice about how to protect his best interests in future. I know Craig isn't "aging" yet! - but as he is disabled by his stroke I'm pretty sure he'll be eligible for many aging and disability related services.

The trouble with giving this responsibility to a Nursing Home is that a) it's too short term - what if Craig needs or wants to move to a different home, or what if the NH undergoes a change of ownership and alters its services? b) it isn't likely that the NH would have people with adequate training in advocacy on its staff and c) there would be a potential conflict of interest there.

Advocacy in the context of health and social care isn't only about legalities, it covers every aspect of a person's life and ensures that the person's own voice gets heard.

What support has Craig had since 2012 (apart from your own, I mean!)? Are you in touch with stroke support groups, other parents of adult children, anything like that?
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I am so sorry you and your son are going through this but I am glad you found a supportive place for him to live.

Does he have a Primary Doctor? I'd ask the Doctor first. There will be many without family at all to assist them.

Or ask the Home what other options there are. Ask the dialysis centre too.

My sister is also a stroke survivors. She doesn't have the best kidney function & has older parents. I work & we are also trying to solve the problem of support for appointments in the future. ((Hugs))
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Wouldn't think so. Check the contract with the nursing home. When in a nursing home, the facility has their own doctors and specialists will make house calls.
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shad250 Jan 2020
At a price
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