My mom Nancy, surrounded by friends, is finally back in her home after a series of health events.
Tenacious is a good word to describe my mother. So, when this feisty 84-year-old was given a steroid treatment to help with a cough and difficulty breathing, I was surprised when she was rendered helpless and had to be hospitalized. Usually, she can pick herself up by the bootstraps and trudge on. But not this time. My mother ended up in the hospital for weeks and after medically cleared, a case of delirium required a stay in a board-and-care to receive 24/7 care until it subsided.
This was all new to me. My independent, strong-willed mother who insisted on doing everything on her own and her way, now needed my help — advocating for her, taking over her finances and basically managing her life. But I needed help. How would I find an assisted living facility or care home while I was working a full-time job? And what about that Medicare counseling appointment she had scheduled after she learned her Medicare Advantage Plan was pulling out of Ventura County? We missed Open Enrollment with everything that was going on with her health.
I had lots of questions, and even more as time went on and circumstances changed. Fortunately, as a member of Moving Seniors Forward and having worked at the Camarillo Health Care District, I knew there were community resources that I could learn more about and lean on during this time of need.
The Health Care District’s social services coordinator is an excellent resource if you’re looking for legal services, nutrition counseling, dementia education, home modification and respite grants, adult day care, transportation services, assistance from other agencies that help seniors, or assisted living, memory care facility or board-and-care like I needed for my mom. She has a robust, vetted list of providers.
Ellen meets one-on-one with families and provides community resources, information and support, as well as care consultations and caregiver mental health services. Among her resources is a list of assisted living facilities and placement agencies in Ventura County. Assisted Living Connections is on that list and a member of Moving Seniors Forward, an organization I joined several years ago in my role at Camarillo Health Care District. So, I asked Tami at Assisted Living Connections and her team, with very short notice, to provide a couple board-and-care options in Camarillo for my mom.
Once my mom left the hospital and settled into the board-and-care, I felt a sense of relief. Although she wasn’t able to go home quite yet, I found a temporary place she could call home, where she would receive round-the-clock care. Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived. During her second night there, my mom fell out of bed and broke her hip. The break wasn’t immediately detected in a mobile X-ray and, fortunately, a trip to the hospital later for other health issues brought clarity and much-needed medical attention.
A blood clot in her leg and lung made hip surgery risky at first. Fortunately, she made it through a surgery to filter out the clots and then hip surgery followed a week later. Within days, she was transferred to a skilled nursing facility to rehab.
My mom received great care at Alta Healthcare at Camarillo Senior Living for the next two months. As the clocked ticked down on her Medicare Advantage plan in December, though, I had to decide what healthcare plan to sign her up for. Not really knowing what I was doing, I picked a random Medicare Advantage plan that I later learned Alta didn’t accept. I should have consulted with a colleague at Moving Seniors Forward, a community resource group that offers a wide spectrum of services to meet the various needs of people during life’s transitions like what my mom was going through.
Nancy recovering from hip surgery at Alta Healthcare at Camarillo Senior Living.
Before the end of the year, I changed my mom to original Medicare with a prescription drug plan so she could stay at Alta. But I had no idea that Medicare only pays for the first 20 days in a skilled nursing facility, and it was going to get costly. My mom was on the hook financially to cover 20 percent of her rehab bill after those first 20 days – to the tune of more than $6,000.
Knowing this could get worse financially for my mom, I turned to Moving Seniors Forward member Catarina of Bright Star Insurance, who specializes in Medicare insurance. She recommended a Medicare Supplemental Plan that would cover those gaps in healthcare coverage. So, as of March 1, my mom should be in less financial peril when it comes to healthcare costs. I just regret not consulting Catarina earlier.
Before settling back in her senior apartment surrounded by her supportive friends and a close-knit community, there was one more piece to my mom’s recovery. She needed temporary home health care. A social worker at Alta helped make the arrangements and I requested Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association, a founding member of Moving Seniors Forward, provide the home health care. I knew they had a stellar reputation and I respected MSF member Barrie, who worked there. A Livingston nurse, physical therapist and occupational therapist now visit my mom two to three times a week, providing her with great care and rehabilitation as she recovers.
While my mom finally seems to be on the mend and she’s back in the comfort of her own home, managing her own life again, I feel like my journey as a family caregiver has just begun. We never know what life will bring and what we may be called to do. I am grateful for Camarillo Health Care District and its caregiving classes, advocacy services and support. I know I can turn to the District for transportation services for my mom (CARE-A-VAN), home-delivered meals because she is homebound and other services she may need in the future such as Fall Prevention classes and the Adult Day Center.
I’ve also learned I can rely on Moving Seniors Forward’s vast network of dedicated and compassionate professionals who are committed to providing guidance and information to enhance the lives of seniors and their families. Whether it’s Power of Attorney (which my mom thankfully had in place already), physical therapy, nutrition services, long-term care insurance, financial planning, relocation services, personal concierge services, hospice or funeral arrangements, Moving Seniors has you covered. And they are only a click away!
