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If the physician writes an order for memory care, assisted living, or skilled nursing home, are family members required to immediately follow it especially if they already have 24/7 care set up at home? I assume the family has the right to a second opinion.

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Whoever is POA for your loved one is obviously working with this doctor to get the LO placed in a managed care environment of some kind. It's not, of course, "mandatory" that the patient be placed. Just a recommendation from the doctor to do so.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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Physicians can diagnose, and treat. They don’t have any legal power to force anyone anywhere (with the limited exception, if someone doesn’t have decision-making capacity, to determine that —but even then the substitute decision-maker decides.)

Only courts have the power to deprive someone of liberty and “Institutionalize” them.

Whoever is making decisions can say “thanks, but no thanks “to the physician recommendations— which is not an order. However, I have to wonder why those recommendations are being made. Putting an elder in an unsafe situation is potentially a problem , though with that has nothing to do with the physician “order”.
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Reply to Rumbletown
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Physicians do not write "orders" for placement. They write diagnoses and they write opinions as to whether a senior is safe alone in their home or if they should have placement in care for their own protection. They have no power to mandate such a thing. That power lies with the patient while competent and with the POA/Guardian/Conservator if the patient is no longer competent.

Your posts to us are sadly lacking in details, so that we have utterly no idea what really you are dealing with, but you have some mistaken ideas about the power of a physician to place anyone in any kind of care, even to and including hospitalization when needed.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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"If the physician writes.."
HAS a physician written such a thing? A recommendation.

Is there a tug of war going on between family members of the
'Stay Home VS Care Home' type?
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Reply to Beatty
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SummerHope Aug 4, 2024
yes. The POA wants to put the parent in a private pay facility. My understanding with private pay is once their money runs out the patients is discharged. Thus, as a family we should now have a plan for what happens when her money runs out and she is discharged. We need to know her financial status (i.e. how much money she has in her estate) to determine how long she can stay in the private pay facility to make an informed decision about admitting her there. I been advised to consider long term, non profit facilities that accept medicare after any private funds have run out. Thus, the patient is not discharged and made to make another transition.
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As stated by the other comments, the doctor is only making a recommendation. The patient's MPoA makes the decision on the care that is in the best interests of the principle.

The PoA should find a good local reputable facility that has a continuum of care levels (IL, AL, MC, LTC, hospice services or affiliation) AND accepts Medicaid.

This will make transitioning to appropriate levels of care seamless. When she is close to running out of money, her PoA applies for Medicaid. If they have open beds, she will go right into a shared room. Medicaid in most states pays only for LTC, not AL or MC. The need for LTC is usually assessed by a physician and agreed upon by the facility. So for Medicaid, one has to qualify both medically and financially. The PoA needs to have this discussion with the admins of the facility so the understandings and expectations are clear.

In most states the financial app has a potential 5-yr lookback into how the resident's finances were managed so the PoA needs to be on the ball and know what they're doing or they could cause a long delay in qualifying for Medicaid.
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Reply to Geaton777
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The person holding the POA is the one who determines if there is enough money to place the principle in care. The POA is the principles representative and should not be discussing principles finances with anyone else. This is not really a family decision, its the POAs.

In my State, if you private pay for at least 2 yrs and the facility takes Medicaid, Medicaid may pay for the person to stay in the facility.

When its determined a person needs 24/7 care, then POA startes looking for an appropriate place. And that depends on how much money the person has. ALs are not for people who have Dementia unless in the very early stages. MC is for those with Dementia. But neither do skilled nursing. Both private pay. If no money its Medicaid in a Long-term care facility. In all 3 a doctor would probably be needed to say the person is 24/7care and what level of care they may need. No way can they order a certain facility without knowing the finances of the patient.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Summer,
I have read a few of your messages to us over the last time, and it appears that you are, overall, very unhappy with the medical community and its care of the one you love.

It also seems that you are NOT the POA and that you have concerns, as you said below, with "what the family should or should not do".

The truth here is that there IS a POA. I think you would be best to throw your support to that person and allow them to act for this loved one, and step back after gently giving your own opinion. I think it would relieve you mind, and leave you more free to provide loving support to your loved one as things are handled by the POA.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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From your profile:

About Me
caring for aging parent amongst a broken family of adult children.

Your mother also has cancer in addition to other health issues. Why not make it your priority to help the POA successfully settle her into a nice place now so you can all rally around mom during her time of need? Don't look at it as some horrible "institutionalized" setting but another layer of help for mom from a team?

My mother private paid in AL and then Memory Care Assisted Living from 2014 until 2022 when she passed. She was running out of money when she passed and I was getting ready to fill out her Medicaid paperwork at the time. That's how it works. The residents are not "discharged" out into the street! Don't stand in the way of the POA here with outrageous claims! That's my suggestion. Band together as a family instead, for moms sake.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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