My 84 year old mother and 86 year old father live in Mesa, AZ. My mother has fallen many times, and it has weakened her greatly. She is on dialysis, has diabetes, and has been in the hospital for 2 weeks while her blood pressure, which is low, is regulated. We had a rehab set up for her, but they suddenly rejected her, and left us hanging. My parents live by themselves, and the rest of the family is on the East Coast. We are looking for a geriatric case manager to help navigate and be an advocate for my mother. Any suggestions on how to approach? Our caregiving is just now reaching an urgent point. Thanks for any help you can offer.
good idea to get a geriatric case manager. Some health plans also offer phone assistance you might tie into.
My guess is that the dialysis might be too much for a SNF to handle. If so, ask the hospital SW what facilities have the capacity to handle dialysis. That's one of the discharge planner's functions - to help find a suitable post-hospitalization placement.
Is this next placement considered to be a short one, i.e., a rehab, followed by AL, or some type of long term care facility?
You might also ask the doctor handling the dialysis about placements; I would think if he/she treats diabetes, he/she would know something about which kinds of SNFs would accept dialysis patients.
Are you by any chance near a city with teaching hospitals? The care can be of a higher standard, and more resources available.
Good luck. This must be frustrating. But the hospital has an obligation to help find a placement.