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Well, we have quickly reached the point of having spent down MIL's savings. I submitted her application for Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid) 30 days ago, and their time frame for a decision is 45 days. We placed her in a board & care in May, at a care rate that we felt could be sustained at least till the end of this year. One week later, she ended up in ICU with a UTI that went into sepsis. After 6 days in the hospital with delirium, having become bed bound and fully incontinent, we assumed she would be discharged to a SNF. However her B&C has a Hospice waiver and convinced us they could care for her if she qualified for Hospice. She did, due to septic shock. We felt in her altered mental state she would be better off not being moved to another unfamiliar facility. Since then we have dealt with lack of communication from B&C staff as well as hospice staff, months of MIL languishing in bed in her room which is in a separate building from the main house, where she felt alone much of the time, and rarely eats much, so is losing weight. After much prodding and shifting of responsibility (between the two staffs), she was moved into the main house and a doctor's order was written for her to be gotten into her wheelchair and taken to the dining room and communal areas. So, finally some improvement. But with the "hospice-level care" came an increase in monthly care fees of over $1600, which has seriously depleted her savings. We are now at the point of having to scramble and rob Peter to pay Paul to pay her rent.



Since she is not going to be discharged from a hospital to a SNF, how do we find a SNF with Medicaid beds that we can feel halfway good about placing her in? I'm searching online hoping to find a placement agency like the one that helped us find the B&C, but I don't find them. Do they exist? The hospice social worker has worked in many SNFs and knows which ones are better than others. Do I wait till Medi-Cal is approved and put him on it? We plan to keep the same hospice company because they know her now and we have established a relationship with them.



Thanks once again for your input.

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Google care patrol, maybe one in your area.. it’s a placement franchise. Otherwise Google care advisors, … there must be some in your area. Your barking up the correct tree looking for one. I place my mom twice, once with an independent in her area , second with care patrol in my area. Plus placed my in laws thru care patrol.

I would try to get a local person who can meet with you , arrange tours , negotiate, they know availability, cost , requirements. And they are paid by the facility that’s placed in.

I wish you luck .. and hope you get things resolved quickly
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I'm a bit confused as to how and why her Board and Care facility can charge her $1600 more a month for hospice care when hospice is covered 100% under your MIL's Medicare. Hospice/Medicare should be covering all of her needed equipment, supplies, and any medications needed 100%. And the hospice nurse coming out and the hospice aides to bathe her several times a week are also covered 100% under her Medicare.
So what does the Board and Care facility do extra for her that hospice isn't doing that justifies the added expense? I would certainly be looking into that and questioning them.
Sorry that really didn't answer your question, but thought I needed to comment on that. Best wishes in finding the best place for your MIL.
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babsjvd Aug 2022
That was my first thought, hospice takes over some of the caregiving…pure greed in charging more…
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My state publishes an online list of residential care sites, with annual evaluations. Look for one in your state. Try (State name) Office of the Aging if you can’t find a list for your state.

It can be a good place to start, right now.

After you’ve seen what’s available in your area, try a couple walk-in visits. Even going into the reception area can give you some clues about how a place is run.

Ask friends and family for recommendations and warnings.

Try to avoid using your funds, but if you temporarily must, document every cent you lay out.

Good luck!
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