Charting a Plan

Right now I am so thankful for the Medicare training I received when working as a coordinator with NH's SHIP program!! It is coming in very handy.

Mom and I will meet with the Ledgeview social worker, Brenda, next Thursday, Oct. 21. That is when Dad's physical therapy is scheduled to end, due to his lack of potential for further progress. The PT qualified Dad for Medicare coverage of his SNF nursing home stay, so if he is to remain in the nursing home, we either need another qualifying criterion (such as the feeding tube), or Mom will have to start paying $187.00 per day.

HOWEVER, Dad wants to go home. So it seems that the best option is Medicare's Hospice coverage, which would pay for a hospital bed and all needed caregivers to come into their apartment. It would be nice to have a seamless transition from Medicare SNF to Medicare Hospice, so that Mom wouldn't have to pay out-of-pocket for even one day.

Before hospice can start, Dad's doctor has to certify him as terminally ill. That needs to happen ASAP for him to go home next week, because a hospital bed has to be ordered for the apartment. Ledgeview requests that communication with the doctor go through the charge nurse, so I spoke to the nurse on duty, and she promised to ask the doctor about the certification. We are hoping for an answer from him tomorrow.

Please pray for God to direct Mom and me, and Dad's care team, to the best possible solution for Dad's comfort as well as Mom and Dad's financial situation--and ultimately, for God's glory.

I'll leave you with a bit of medical trivia I learned today. Dad's feeding tube is a jejunostomy tube (J-tube), because it goes into the part of the small intestine called the jejunum. Fascinating, huh??