Short-term rehab facility vs. home care ?

OhDear

DH is in the hospital and they want to release him to Short term sub-acute rehab facility. He was in for a fall but he is not seriously hurt - except for the agitation/aggression/anxiety and some balance issues. The hospital won't let him out of bed at all. He begs to come home. The list of facilities available changed every day last week - some are up to 1.5 hrs/2 hr drive so I haven't been able to tour them all. Some are cited. Several don't have dementia /MC training. My DH is on Seroquel but they also use Haldol in the hospital because Seroquel isn't enough?? He did not qualify for Hospice and she recommended that I get Home Care but we have a townhouse with 3 floors and several steps. I don't know which way to go…Any advice??

Quilting brings calm

go with the rehab. Anything to delay the home care with your home situation. At the very least, it will give you some time to try to set up things that will allow him to survive on the ground floor.

M1

Ask for a geriatric psych consult and inquire about inpatient treatment. He may need stabilisation on medication before MC anyway. Most pWD are not appropriate for short term rehab. Tell them (truthfully) that you are unable to care for him at home. Say it over and over.

jfkoc

I believe that mentally home would be best.

I do not believe that rehab will be of any use other then giving you time to prepare. They are not trained to care for persons with dementia and nothing will be retained.

cdgbdr

I think it depends on what you want. As another said, the rehab will delay the transition home and if he hasn't been up, might help. As far as home care, are they talking about private care that you hire or skilled visits by nurses and therapists? If you opt for home now, you might need both. That takes time and money. You're in a tough spot. I lean toward the closest, quality rehab to give you more time and opportunity to plan.

Denise1847

I just went through the same problem. DH in the hospital for a month with COVID, confined to bed, then transferred to a sub-acute, which was a nightmare. He is now in memory care. Depending upon how advanced his disease is, you may want to consider memory care. If you have long-term care insurance, I think that would be best. According to the costs in my State (Maryland), home care with skilled nurses and aides is more expensive than memory care (depending upon how many hours you get them).