ALF is closing in a month and a half! What do I do?
My mom has been living at her ALF (has never been happy) for two and a half years. I just received a voicemail that the ALF is closing at the end of October. Her budget is EXTREMELY tight and the ALF was very affordable. Any suggestions?
Google Residential Care or Group Homes in your city. Also, your local ALZ association should be able to give you a list of facilities. They are much less expensive where I live than MC facilities.
Never mind, I'm getting a lot of really bad information. My mom's budget doesn't cover the "sister" ALF price. I'm back on trying to find my mom a new ALF. This is so stressful. Thanks everyone.
I just spoke w/ the business office. The lady was trying to be kind and left a message that stated "they are having a transition and that they will close at the end of October." She left out the part that they'll be transferring my mom to a "sister" facility. Thank goodness! I appreciate all of your replies. I just love my mom and want her safe and cared for!
Any idea of why they are closing this particular facility? If they are having some sort of financial difficulty (and many of them are) you may want to start a little contingency planning -- just in case it is ever needed in the future.
What are they doing to help find other facilities? Are they offering any help in relocating residents? I can not believe that they would leave a voicemail. I would think a certified letter so they have proof that each family was notified. (Just curious what would happen if on the 31st of October there was still a resident that had not been moved by a family member? They can't just lock the doors and walk away.) Do you know if the facility is actually closing or has another bought it? Talk to the Social Worker that they have on staff. See what option there are. Ask if they are aware of another facility that they could refer you to. Begin your search. And do it quickly. If each family is going to have to find another facility the ones that have beds are going to fill quickly. If yo need to begin application process for Medicaid.
If money is tight, then you may need to consider a nice NH with Medicaid eventually paying for her care. Your Mom suffers from Dementia and there would have come a point that the AL would not have been able to care for her.
When my Mom's money was running out, I took her last 20k and placed her in a NH. I applied for Medicaid in April. Placed her May 1st. She paid May and June privately. June I confirmed she was spent down and caseworker had all the info needed and July 1st Medicaid started.
ALs are privately owned. They can and will turn people out. It is a business. Our local one lost their Medicaid certification and immediately told residents that they had 3 days to move. My friend had to scramble to get his Mom placed.
Talk to the administration of the AL she's still in. See if they are offering any help to find new facilities for their residents to move into. Hopefully they are offering this kind of assistance. You say her money is very tight so I'm assuming she isn't on Medicaid. They didn't use to pay assisted living. They might now and it would be worth talking to your state's Department of Social Services about it. Medicaid pays for a nursing home facility. Your mom may have to go to one. If she does she would be in what is sometimes called Custodial Care or Room and Board Care. This is for people who don't need skilled nursing care and who don't need to be in a locked memory care floor. She won't have her own room and if she's on Medicaid in this kind of care in a nursing home facility, it won't be like where she's coming from.
You don't mention how old your mother is. She can enter a facility that has Medicaid beds on private pay and when she is about 4 months away from running out of money you apply for Medicaid for her. She will be able to stay where she's at and receive the same care and attention. The only difference may be is that she'll have to share a room, but not always. I strongly suggest you consult with a Medicaid planner to make sure you don't manage her finances in a way that inadvertently causes her to be delayed or disqualified (which happens often). Many states Medicaid app has a financial "look back" period of 5 years, so it IS important to understand this as an important option for her.
Medicaid covers AL facilities? They might not. More likely the mother will have to go into a nursing home and be put in what is known as Custodial Care or sometimes Room and Board Care. This is for people who don't need skilled care and are not yet at the point where they need to be in memory care. Hopefully the AL closing down will offer some kind of assistance with the placement of their residents.
One of the catholic NHs here is closing soon to all non retired nuns. They are going to help find placements for the others. Have you asked if they have a plan in place to help you? I am not sure they can just put residents on the curb ( at least I hope not! )
Start looking around for another affordable ALF immediately! You can also ask here on Aging Care, on the right hand side of the screen, for help finding an ALF in your zip code. You can also look into residential care homes which provide services to a small group of seniors in a family-like environment. Here is a link:
https://www.aplaceformom.com/care-homes
Be sure to scroll down & read all about these types of places which seem to be more affordable than the regular ALFs.
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Any idea of why they are closing this particular facility? If they are having some sort of financial difficulty (and many of them are) you may want to start a little contingency planning -- just in case it is ever needed in the future.
I can not believe that they would leave a voicemail. I would think a certified letter so they have proof that each family was notified.
(Just curious what would happen if on the 31st of October there was still a resident that had not been moved by a family member? They can't just lock the doors and walk away.)
Do you know if the facility is actually closing or has another bought it?
Talk to the Social Worker that they have on staff. See what option there are. Ask if they are aware of another facility that they could refer you to.
Begin your search. And do it quickly. If each family is going to have to find another facility the ones that have beds are going to fill quickly.
If yo need to begin application process for Medicaid.
When my Mom's money was running out, I took her last 20k and placed her in a NH. I applied for Medicaid in April. Placed her May 1st. She paid May and June privately. June I confirmed she was spent down and caseworker had all the info needed and July 1st Medicaid started.
ALs are privately owned. They can and will turn people out. It is a business. Our local one lost their Medicaid certification and immediately told residents that they had 3 days to move. My friend had to scramble to get his Mom placed.
You say her money is very tight so I'm assuming she isn't on Medicaid. They didn't use to pay assisted living. They might now and it would be worth talking to your state's Department of Social Services about it. Medicaid pays for a nursing home facility. Your mom may have to go to one. If she does she would be in what is sometimes called Custodial Care or Room and Board Care. This is for people who don't need skilled nursing care and who don't need to be in a locked memory care floor. She won't have her own room and if she's on Medicaid in this kind of care in a nursing home facility, it won't be like where she's coming from.
Medicaid covers AL facilities? They might not. More likely the mother will have to go into a nursing home and be put in what is known as Custodial Care or sometimes Room and Board Care. This is for people who don't need skilled care and are not yet at the point where they need to be in memory care.
Hopefully the AL closing down will offer some kind of assistance with the placement of their residents.
https://www.aplaceformom.com/care-homes
Be sure to scroll down & read all about these types of places which seem to be more affordable than the regular ALFs.
Good luck!
Call the area agency on aging. Ask about care homes, those are often much less costly than other types of facilities. Is mom on Medicaid?
They must have a plan to help current residents find another place. Ask!