I live in Orlando, Florida and can’t always be around to help my Father with my Mom. They live in Mansfield, Ohio and my Mom has a mild cognitive impairment. I recently went home to help my Dad, as well as give him a break. I’ve offered to help them move to Florida to be closer to me, but my Dad was born and raised in Ohio and wants to stay put. I completely understand this. However, he mentioned to me that he’s getting to a point where he needs help. He and my Mom attend an Alzheimer’s meeting once a month. I wish I could be there more often but have a full-time job and family of my own in FL. I’ve let my Dad know that if he decides not to move that we need to start looking for options for someone who could help him on a part-time basis. It would be helpful if it was someone that could also educate my Dad on my Mom’s progression and support him as a caretaker, as I’m concerned he’s going to burnout. Any thoughts on organizations I could contact that may be able to help?
If your parents can budget for this, check to see if an Independent Living facility would work. The cost is around $4k to $6k per month. Some places have option levels of care, thus if your Mom needs more care, Dad could order a level of care of her at a cost. Most IL facilities offer in the rent a nice size apartment with one or two bedrooms, large living room, and full size kitchen. Rent also can include weekly cleaning service, weekly linen service, and 1 or 3 meals in the restaurant styled dining room with menu service. There is usually a nurse available on-site 24 hours a day.
A third option, maybe your Mom can apply for Medicaid [which is different from Medicare]. Each State handles their Medicaid differently. You would need to contact Ohio Medicaid to see what programs are available. Your Dad might be able to get an Aide to come in for a few hours each week. Sorry, Medicaid doesn't offer full caregiving services, as Medicaid feels it cost less to have the person in a Nursing Home. Medicaid is funded by the taxpayers.
To help educate Dad, check out these articles here on Aging Care: https://www.agingcare.com/alzheimers-dementia