I want to get my mother in an assisted living facility. She will not take care of herself hygienically and physically. She only receives about 900 a month from SS. She owns her home. What are my options?
While looking for an assisted living facility for your loved one, you need to investigate the facility's rating based on your state's regulations and reviews.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) helps consumers understand the purpose of assisted living ratings and explains why it's important to gain in-depth knowledge. While CMS has a rating system to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily, they do NOT have a website to audit assisted living facilities because each state regulate assisted living facilities.
I have found this website very informative about assisted living facilities: www.assistedlivingfacilities.org/resources/choosing-an-assisted-living-facility/making-sense-of-assisted-living-ratings/ The Ratings
As Jeanne stated, you need to contact your local Area Agency on Aging and ask them for help you.
One option would be to apply for Medicaid for her. In some states Medicaid will pay for assisted living, but it can be difficult to find a facility that accepts it. Hard, but not impossible. Or Medicaid could pay for some in-home help. Might that be enough to keep Mother on the right self-care track? And, of course, Medicaid pays for nursing home care when that is appropriate.
She could sell her home and use all the proceeds plus her SS payments to pay for ALF as long as that money lasts.
I think I'd start by having Mom's needs assessed. Her Area Agency on Aging can probably tell you how to arrange that, or you can contact her Department of Human Resources and ask for a needs assessment (which is what we did for our mom.) Once you have an appointment for someone to come interview her in her home, a knowledgeable family member should be present, too. Elders tend to exaggerate their capabilities. Mom may say "Of course I can manage my own medicines!" and you can gently remind her that she only took 1/3 of the pills she should have taken last month. The assessment interviewers are very familiar with this tendency to exaggerate, but they have to write down what they are told.
Once you have an objective view of her needs, then you can begin figuring out how to meet them. That might mean you start looking for ALF that accept Medicaid payments or that will accept such payments after the resident has been self-paying for a period of time (such a a year, or 18 months, or whatever.)
Or you may decide you'll try out less drastic measures and start looking for in-home help to do the cleaning, laundry, keep Mom company, etc.
Has your mother or her husband served in the military? There may be some benefits available through the VA.
Is this the kind of options you are interested in? Or have I misunderstood your question?
How does your mother feel about going into assisted living?
Assisted livings average 5k a month, depends on where you live. Her SS will not cover the cost. You could sell the house and use the money for her care. If you go this way, you have to make sure the house sells at market price in case Mom needs Medicaid within the next five years. You don't say it in ur profile but I assume Mom may have Dementia. If so, this will only get worse. You may want to look at Nursing Homes. If SS is all Mom has, she will qualify for Medicaid. Depending on the state, there is a minimum amt that Mom is allowed. Where I live its 2k. She can have her house but will have no money for its upkeep. In the spend down money has to be used on her can't be given away.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) helps consumers understand the purpose of assisted living ratings and explains why it's important to gain in-depth knowledge. While CMS has a rating system to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily, they do NOT have a website to audit assisted living facilities because each state regulate assisted living facilities.
I have found this website very informative about assisted living facilities:
www.assistedlivingfacilities.org/resources/choosing-an-assisted-living-facility/making-sense-of-assisted-living-ratings/
The Ratings
As Jeanne stated, you need to contact your local Area Agency on Aging and ask them for help you.
She could sell her home and use all the proceeds plus her SS payments to pay for ALF as long as that money lasts.
I think I'd start by having Mom's needs assessed. Her Area Agency on Aging can probably tell you how to arrange that, or you can contact her Department of Human Resources and ask for a needs assessment (which is what we did for our mom.) Once you have an appointment for someone to come interview her in her home, a knowledgeable family member should be present, too. Elders tend to exaggerate their capabilities. Mom may say "Of course I can manage my own medicines!" and you can gently remind her that she only took 1/3 of the pills she should have taken last month. The assessment interviewers are very familiar with this tendency to exaggerate, but they have to write down what they are told.
Once you have an objective view of her needs, then you can begin figuring out how to meet them. That might mean you start looking for ALF that accept Medicaid payments or that will accept such payments after the resident has been self-paying for a period of time (such a a year, or 18 months, or whatever.)
Or you may decide you'll try out less drastic measures and start looking for in-home help to do the cleaning, laundry, keep Mom company, etc.
Has your mother or her husband served in the military? There may be some benefits available through the VA.
Is this the kind of options you are interested in? Or have I misunderstood your question?
How does your mother feel about going into assisted living?
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