Mom needs more help than assisted living memory care

mlthompson1292 · August 10

My mom was living in an assisted living memory care facility up until she broke her hip and had surgery. The hospital she was at lied and told the rehab facility that my mom has ‘a little confusion’, so the rehab facility accepted her to be transferred there. The hospital did not tell the rehab facility the severity of her dementia. So now my mom is at a rehab facility that cannot handle her needs or keep her safe and she has already taken a fall while being there. My sister and I have been calling long term care facilities and we can’t find anyone who will accept our mom. We keep getting told different things and the case manager at the rehab facility wants my mom moved out of there, but she isn’t helping us find a safe place for her to go. My question is, where do we go from here? What type of care are we looking for and does it exist?

April23 · August 10

Could she possibly be transferred to a rehab facility that has a memory care floor?

If you are looking at placement for after rehab (assuming she can’t go back to her previous facility), you could look at an RCF aka residential care home, group home, etc. It is a home in a residential community that has been converted to a memory care facility. That is where I placed my dad once his needs were greater than his MC AL could reasonably handle. They are usually small facilities with 6-8 residents. The only other alternative I know of is a nursing home, although where I live, an RCF is preferable.

If you are private pay (not Medicaid), a senior living advisor can help you if the case mgr won’t. They are like apartment locators, but for long term care and will help you find placement at no cost to you.

I’m so sorry you are in this situation, what a nightmare. I had a similar situation but luckily the rehab had a memory care floor and he was moved there to complete his rehab.

caregiving daughter · August 11

If it helps, my mom broke her hip while in memory care. Following surgery, she returned to her exact same room and they continued to care for her there. I believe memory care is a step up in cost compared to skilled nursing so would be considered a very high level of care.

ARIL · August 11

Has the MC refused to take her back, or is the problem that she needs a rehab facility that can manage dementia?

In my area, the next step up in care from MC is a skilled nursing facility. But many MCs will take residents back after a fall.

Have you asked your mom’s doctor for advice about rehab? Whoever is supervising her care ought to know more.

Your Area Agency on Aging or the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 helpline are also resources for local problem-solving.

mlthompson1292 · August 12

Thank you all for your responses and support. She isn’t able to return to her memory care facility and unfortunately nobody will take her. Right before her fall they changed her medications and she is back to hallucinating and being disruptive once her Seroquel kicks in. She has been on this drug before and we have asked to try something else because she had these same reactions. I am still not sure why they put her back on it… Unfortunately we are not being heard at all in the facility we are at and we have nowhere else for her to go besides inpatient psyche for medication management at the hospital and then placement to a long term care facility with memory care. This is all so heartbreaking.

Emily 123 · August 13

Some of this will come down to if your mom can bear weight and stand with a one-person assist. Memory care might hesitate to take on a bedridden person as they require a higher level of daily care that would be considered 'nursing'. If your mom can bear weight (so that aides can get herup and have her assist with her hygiene), then a MC with in-house rehab services might be a good option.

Mom needs more help than assisted living memory care

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