I’m conservator for my Sister who had a stroke is bedridden, cannot communicate well and on a feeding tube. Finding a facility that cares for patients with a feeding tube is challenging and costly due to liability. I called many facilities until a Catholic facility manager gave me a recommendation.
A small, comfortable healing Nursing Care facility, has healed her wounds and stabilized her weight and medication. She was prescribed many meds and is down to 2 along with supplements. The Severe bed wounds happened while hospitalized over 60 days.
Plan A: Because her funds are dwindling, I’m considering moving her to my home and hire a 8 hour/day CNA.
She is currently paying mortgage, taxes etc and nursing care. The home needs to be sold.
Plan B: Sell the home, use all funds to continue the comfortable outside care until all assets are spent. Then apply for Medicaid.
Any advisement is appreciated.
Hiring a CNA to be in your home for eight hours a day has its own problems. For one thing, that's not nearly enough care. For another, it's a Certified Nurse Assistant, and they're not qualified to do all the things your sister will probably need - tube feeding, for instance, may not be something the CNA can do. There will be crises, symptoms that crop up and you won't understand, emergencies one after the other, things that will be required of you to do. The peace of your home is shattered when you bring in a sick person who must be cared for. You'd be exhausted in no time.
She's in a good care facility now. Leave her there. You can be supportive in many ways, but they shouldn't include turning your house into a nursing home or your life into a caregiving nightmare.
Definitely for me it is plan B.
She currently is in quite dire condition.
At any time the bedsore problem could/would become an issue. Tube feedings are notorious for out of control diarrhea and sores. Sepsis from decubiti is a leading cause of death for those who are bedridden.
If she is getting good care where she is I would do all I could be have her stay there. You have been witness to the amount of skill and perseverance it takes to care for her. Do you really feel you can take that on for 16 hours a day while a CNA cost takes the money quickly that she still has?
Just on the face of this, with the facts you have given, I would go with plan B. I am not certain how long your sister would even WISH to live in this condition; nor how long she CAN live in it, and I would make the time she has as pleasant as you are able.
I hope your sister had a good advance directive and you know her wishes well for end of life, so that, if she becomes terrible ill and debilitated you will be able to withdraw the forced feedings and allow hospice to ease her exit with minimal pain. The prognosis for her, I know you already understand, is very dire.
Plan A is not sustainable . You would need a CNA more than 8 hours a day , which is sometimes problematic . It will get old quickly .
Additionally , with the problems with the mentally ill nephew you could be getting nuisance visits at your home.
Keep this situation out of your home . Place your sister and keep in touch eldercare lawyer throughout all steps .
Good luck .
You will need a CNA who is specialty trained on how to work with a feeding tube and the hygiene of it. Also one who has experience with stroke care. Visiting nursing will also be a good idea in case medication needs to be ordered or other supplies. CNA's don't have access to doing that.
If you're looking at 8 hours a day of aide care, that time should be broken up into different times and not all at once. This way repositioning, hygiene care, feedings, and changing her can be done regularly.
See All Answers