Downer thread.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

My GFs grandma is in a nursing home that is a smidge better than your average college dorms. In the middle of nowhere.

$10,000/month. Absolute racket.

Its a disgrace, its a silent crisis that gets no media run

Originally Posted by loochy

Is it a racket though? The amount of care required for people in that situation is staggering. If it was easy we'd all gladly perform the care ourselves at home. There's no easy answers to this situation...it's a bitch.

Yeah its a racket, most of these homes are absolutely ruthless and I've heard it time and again from retiree friends with family in homes... they want the deed to your home, everything you own, and your soul on top of it all

And they'll follow all of that up by treating grandma like shit

[LagunaSWana]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

Its a disgrace, its a silent crisis that gets no media run



Yeah its a racket, most of these homes are absolutely ruthless and I've heard it time and again from retiree friends with family in homes... they want the deed to your home, everything you own, and your soul on top of it all

And they'll follow all of that up by treating grandma like shit

As I said, I'm in the business and have helped hundreds of families and I've never once heard of a community asking for a deed, nor anything they own. It's a month-to-month rental. No long-term lease, no credit checks, no collateral.

There are communities called Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC), or Life Care Communities that require a large entrance fee (buy-in) and with it comes a contract for the community to care for you for life, even if you run out of money. But it's a cash buy-in, not a deed to your home. It's like buying Long Term Care insurance in a lump sum. I'm not a big fan of these, but some people swear by them.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Many nursing homes run on 2-3% profit margins. 24/7 licensed staff care is expensive, not to mention the supplies and overhead provided by the business.

In home care is usually 2-3x the cost and the most expensive option.

Many nursing home residents are on Medicaid because they cannot afford the care themselves. Medicaid currently pays facilities 15-30% UNDER the cost to actually care for the patient. If you actually cared about facilities being able to provide better care, you would vote so that the government stops cutting Medicaid funding for care.

Originally Posted by LagunaSWana

As I said, I'm in the business and have helped hundreds of families and I've never once heard of a community asking for a deed, nor anything they own. It's a month-to-month rental. No long-term lease, no credit checks, no collateral.

There are communities called Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC), or Life Care Communities that require a large entrance fee (buy-in) and with it comes a contract for the community to care for you for life, even if you run out of money. But it's a cash buy-in, not a deed to your home. It's like buying Long Term Care insurance in a lump sum. I'm not a big fan of these, but some people swear by them.

I won't claim to know all the ins and outs of that industry, but I was a homecare aide for the elderly for a year with five clients... and three of them railed against how many of these places operate very ruthlessly

My 87 year old Korean war combat vet client Jim had a wife in a home with a debilitating illness, and he is a man of fairly substantial means who almost built a small town near me all by himself... and he was almost in tears with me so many times about how draconian and heartless this place was

I went with him to see his wife once around Christmas, and this place was a soul sucking abyss... abandon hope all ye who enter

Two other clients all said the same kinda things about these places, even the supposedly fancy places aren't all they appear to be

If at all possible, my mother will live with me instead

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

I won't claim to know all the ins and outs of that industry, but I was a homecare aide for the elderly for a year with five clients... and three of them railed against how many of these places operate very ruthlessly

My 87 year old Korean war combat vet client Jim had a wife in a home with a debilitating illness, and he is a man of fairly substantial means who almost built a small town near me all by himself... and he was almost in tears with me so many times about how draconian and heartless this place was

I went with him to see his wife once around Christmas, and this place was a soul sucking abyss... abandon hope all ye who enter

Two other clients all said the same kind of things about these places, even the supposedly fancy places aren't all they appear to be

If at all possible, my mother will live with me instead

My wife's Dad went that route. We rented a hospital bed, Had a nurse come in to change his bedding etc. 3X a week. Figure out when to do bloodwork, whats changed to the Dr. Then we went from there. Cost more but not much.

I think most nursing homes charge around $200 a day at the bottom on the space. We paid about $300 a day. to allow his wife of 60+ years and other help from the family to allow him to die safely, pain free death in his own home.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

I won't claim to know all the ins and outs of that industry, but I was a homecare aide for the elderly for a year with five clients... and three of them railed against how many of these places operate very ruthlessly

My 87 year old Korean war combat vet client Jim had a wife in a home with a debilitating illness, and he is a man of fairly substantial means who almost built a small town near me all by himself... and he was almost in tears with me so many times about how draconian and heartless this place was

I went with him to see his wife once around Christmas, and this place was a soul sucking abyss... abandon hope all ye who enter

Two other clients all said the same kinda things about these places, even the supposedly fancy places aren't all they appear to be

If at all possible, my mother will live with me instead

So you have a handful of experience and want to paint the entire industry? That's like eating out at a few bad restaurants and claiming they all suck.

If they are receiving bad care, those homes need to be reported to the state agency. I know patients who have lived a decade in good care homes after things like massive strokes. There are providers who care and know how to provide compassionate care but it's not an industry that is making money hand over fist.

Caring for your parents after massive events like strokes or a chronic disease that wastes the body might be your goal now, but it's unrealistic for most. Providers have been telling state agencies and governments for a decade now that if you want better care, reimbursement at least has to pay the bills. I don't know how we expect any business to keep the lights on when reimbursement is 15-30% below cost of care.

This country is failing it elderly and no one cares until if directly effects them.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by lewdog

So you have a handful of experience and want to paint the entire industry? That's like eating out at a few bad restaurants and claiming they all suck.

If they are receiving bad care, those homes need to be reported to the state agency. I know patients who have lived a decade in good care homes after things like massive strokes. There are providers who care and know how to provide compassionate care but it's not an industry that is making money hand over fist.

Caring for your parents after massive events like strokes or a chronic disease that wastes the body might be your goal now, but it's unrealistic for most. Providers have been telling state agencies and governments for a decade now that if you want better care, reimbursement at least has to pay the bills. I don't know how we expect any business to keep the lights on when reimbursement is 15-30% below cost of care.

This country is failing it elderly and no one cares until if directly effects them.

I'm just telling you what my clients told me

They all have multiple family members and friends in various homes around here, and none of them had much of anything good to say about the cost vs quality of care/food, even at the higher end places

But I'm done with this topic, and I hope everything works out for Smeds dad