Assisted living · Caregiving · Financial stress · Medicaid · Medicare · Nursing homes

Voices in the wilderness, part 2 / November 26, 2006

I’ve been doing a little research and here are a few facts: According to the MetLife Mature Market Institute: The 2006 average daily rate for a private room in a nursing home is $206 ($75,190 annually), a $3 or 1.5% increase over the 2005 rate of $203. In 2004 the rate was $192 daily. (from the… Continue reading Voices in the wilderness, part 2 / November 26, 2006

Anger · Assisted living · Behavior · Caregiver · Financial stress · Spume

Voices in the wilderness, part 1 / November 26

I’m doing better since my last post, which is interesting to me, since nothing external has changed. Except, maybe, my hormones–which I know are internal but I think fueled my anxiety last weekend. So the medical researchers out there who are looking for a way to use that extra NIH grant money might consider studying… Continue reading Voices in the wilderness, part 1 / November 26

Assisted living · Burnout · Caregiver · Caregiving · Conversation · Grief

Meltdown / November 20, 2006

I was just over at the Alzheimer’s Association Caregiver Forum where someone had posted a message about the caregiver’s stages. I think I passed from one stage to the next on Sunday night, in a matter of minutes. I had a meltdown right in front of my mother (which I had tried never to do)… Continue reading Meltdown / November 20, 2006

Aid & Attendance · Caregiver · Medicare · Medicare pt. D

Aid & Attendance, part 3, and Medicare Part D / November 17, 2006

Just an update on my Aid & Attendance application: I mailed it–certified mail with a signature receipt–about 3 weeks ago. Within a week of mailing I received a letter from the regional VA Office here in Providence telling me that the VA does NOT accept applications based on Power of Attorney. They claim that POA… Continue reading Aid & Attendance, part 3, and Medicare Part D / November 17, 2006

Alzheimer's disease · Assisted living · Caregiving · Music

The elephant in the room / November 11, 2006

Here we are a week later, and very little has actually changed from our pre-hospital routine, aside from a new morning battle with the anti-embolism stockings. I was right in suspecting that a layer of delerium had been added to the mix in the nursing home, and now that it has disappeared my mother has… Continue reading The elephant in the room / November 11, 2006