89-year-old mom was discharged from the hospital when they knew full well that home services were denied. Where do I turn?

Was Mom on Tramadol? This med causes hallucinations and should not be used on the elderly.

Someone dropped the ball. I think both Dad and Mom would be better in an AL until you can figure this all out. Hopefully they have money for a few months of care. That way Mom will have aides to help her and Dad will be there to help ease along the transition. Hopefully someone has POA on both of them. She can get PT while in AL.

Consider selling the home to help with their care. If you think Medicaid will be needed sooner than later talk to them about Dads money vs Moms money. If Dad wants to stay in their home then assets will be split so that Dad can still cover the bills but Moms portion will need to be spent down to receive Medicaid for LTC. Or hire a lawyer versed in elder care and Medicaid. Money spent can come out of Moms and Dads money. There are ways to get on Medicaid even if your a little over. Some states have a Miller trust which handles the overage and reverts back to Medicaid upon death.

Ur local Office of Aging may be able to help.

The decision not to take the case because of questionable ability of your mother to safely remain at home was most likely made by the visiting nurse who assessed her at home. The hospital could not have assessed the home situation without being there to actually assess it. As a prior home care RN I had to make that call.

I can understand you may not agree with this decision but look at it another way....the home care nurse assessed through her/his professional judgement that once the HC staff leaves, who will continue to care for that patient? So the RN leaves, who will assist your mother to the bathroom, bathe her or feed her? Your father can’t. The nurse thinks 24/7 care, not just the limited time (hours) they (PT/OT) are there.

You and your sibling may take turns taking care of them, but to a home care nurse that’s not good enough. The HC is being an advocate for your parent in recognizing your mother needs more care & a part time situation won’t fit her needs for safety.

Most likely the home care nurse made this call as they assessed that no one could provide ongoing care to your mother, a vulnerable adult, because your father was assessed not to be able to care for your mother day to day.

Send her back to the ER and refuse to take her home- insist on NH placement. If your parents have the resources you may need to self pay until they apply for and get Medicaid. Or hire caregivers at her home for 24/7 care.

Its unfortunate no one spoke up at discharge time to say no, she needs more than Homecare, she needs 24/7 supervision and insisted she be changed to “admission” status for the 3 night stay requirement for consideration for nursing home placement. That was the time to inform hospital staff of her needs. But it’s not too late - once she is sent to the ER the process can be started over again but financially Medicare may not cover it but I am not sure how payment would work.

It sounds like your mom needs more than just the home health service an elder gets after a qualifying hospital stay. That only involves a nurse coming maybe once a week & checking vitals, a health aid typically comes twice a week for bathing, and therapy comes once/twice a week. They are there for only a short time.

Depending on your state, if your parents are on Medicaid, more support services might be available free of charge. Check with your local council on aging.