How do you decide whether someone requires 24 hrs or night care and not just day care?

It sounds like it would be too much for your Mom. I would think that rehab has asked if there is help at home to which the answer was probably yes, meaning your Mom. This is not fair to Mom and will become too much for her very quickly. How close are you to them? Would you be able to spend nights with them? Or is there another family member that could?

I forgot to add, how would you like to be in bed all those hours in a wet or worse diaper. Come on folks, think about it!

You still need to talk to social worker about the situation once he returns home. It does not sound like an ideal picture for your parents to be alone at night. Anyway you look at it there are two people who both need assistance.

Time to sit the family down and make future plans for their 24 hour care either in home or maybe assisted living. Best of luck to them!

OK, I realize I haven't given the full picture. He doesn't live alone. he lives with my 84 year old mother who had a stroke 11 year ago and is independant but impaired on her right side. So she walks with a limp and has the function of one hand and arm (the non-dominant left side). So the reason we have help at all is because there's no way my mother can help him and if there is help it would primarily be for my father but he/she can help mother with light cooking, cleaning and getting things out of her reach, -that sort of thing. The caretaker is not meant to care full time for two people. However, if we have no caretaker at night, my other will be there to sound the alarm if anything should happen but she is in no condition to be helping him out of bed or help him dress, undress, sit up, etc. So now I should ask the question again- how do we decide whether 24 hr care is necessary? Or do we see what he's like at home?

He may not need skilled nursing care around the clock, but he should NOT be left alone. What is his long-term prognosis? Is he expected to recover his ability to get out of bed, for example, or is this his new normal?

Talk to the facility's social worker, Make it clear that there is no one to care for him around the clock.

Let the rehab know that he has no one to care for him.. He can not be left alone!

Your Father needs 24 hour care. He can NOT be left to fend for himself for 15 hours! You had better find a better solution. In my opinion, this would be elder abuse. Not trying to be mean or offensive......just stating the facts.