My 93 year old mom has used CPAP for 20-30 years and can handle it independently. She recently moved into assisted living and they say they are required by law to charge $323 extra per month because they are "ultimately responsible for it". Have other folks had this experience, and is this truly state law (Washington)?
The $323 monthly fee is likely a facility policy rather than a state mandate. You could ask for the specific law or regulation the facility is citing, if the fee can be waived since your mother is independent, and for a breakdown of what the fee covers (e.g. cleaning, staff checks, emergency response).
If needed, you can also call the Washington Long Term Care Ombudsman Program for help advocating. (800) 562-6028 or www.waombudsman.org.
I hope this helps a little.
I've used a cpap for several years now. It's not like I'll die if I don't use it every night or for a while. I'll get crappy sleep but I won't die... so not sure what the worry is for facilities. I think it's a lame excuse to charge people.
There is a distinct difference between being able to pull the mask on your face when you are ready to use it and ensuring that the machine is properly maintained. And in you have an improperly maintained CPAP it can be incredibly dangerous to the user's health.
If she was in a nursing home - it would likely be part of the cost - I know it was for my FIL. But at assisted living, a lot of things are "a la carte" for a reason.
CPAP is used so that a person requiring it doesn't go into periods of apnea. It's serious business and the older one gets the more serious in that it is more frequently inadvertently removed, mal-adjusted, etc. The care plan of your mom will include instructions as to how often this device must be checked.
I would be surprised if they have hired another person responsible for these checks, and can't imagine why it would cost almost 400.00, but there you are. They make the rules. And your saying you don't LIKE or agree to the rules will have them quite quickly saying that your loved one is perhaps best to move to a facility that an meet your needs. A nice way of saying "our way or the highway".
AL staffing in some States can be that there only is a requirement that there is an RN available for oversight. So literally the RN can be remote and doing FaceTime or Zoom and that is 100% ok for oversight. Frightening isn’t it! Now a SNF / NH, they have to deal with the machines as part of the residents overall care. It would be like dealing with a peg line. It’s like what BlueEyed described.