1. < Caregivers: Dementia

In-Home Caretakers Terrible, MCU Much Better

Posted by primarycaretaker2024 @primarycaretaker2024, Mar 25 2:24pm

We provided my mother with at-home caretakers for over a year. These were "under the table" off-the-books caretakers. I hired them after being put in a bad position. Nobody was willing to provide quality care for her on-the-books and I wasn't ready to put her in a memory care unit. It was incredibly expensive, and in retrospect, the quality was pretty bad. I should have paid more attention to warning signs at the time. Now that she is in a memory care unit she is much better cared for. I wish so much that we had skipped the whole at-home care step. What a waste of money that was.

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janiceanntheresa | @janiceanntheresa | Apr 23 6:27am
In reply to @coping123 "Hi @tsc, Is your husband a Veteran? We have a caregiver 7 hrs a day, 5..." + (show)
@coping123

Hi @tsc, Is your husband a Veteran? We have a caregiver 7 hrs a day, 5 days a week paid for under the Veteran Directed Care Program. The intent is to keep the Veteran in their home. We found a wonderful caregiver who has become family to us. I realize how blessed we are to have found her. The nearest care facility is about 2 hrs from us. The nearest excellent memory care facility is almost 3 hrs away & has a waiting list. (I think all the facilities within about a 3 hr radius have waiting lists. It’s not unusual.) We had 2 small facilities in town. Both closed this last year because of staffing issues.

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My husband is a veteran have him in a VA homenow but there are too many and too few and not so good CNA's. Not sure what to do next as most nursing homes are 5 to 10 thousand a month and too expensive for me

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Mentor
Becky, Volunteer Mentor | @becsbuddy | Apr 23 10:17pm
In reply to @janiceanntheresa "My husband is a veteran have him in a VA homenow but there are too many..." + (show)
@janiceanntheresa

My husband is a veteran have him in a VA homenow but there are too many and too few and not so good CNA's. Not sure what to do next as most nursing homes are 5 to 10 thousand a month and too expensive for me

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@janiceanntheresa Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I’m glad you found this site. All of the members here are so nice and so helpful. You say that your husband is in a VA home now. How long has he been there? Does he need lots of care? As a retired nurse, I know how it is for families to view the staffing and/or the attitude of staff. The best thing you can do is to start being friendly with the staff. Let your manner show that you aren’t there to criticize them or to try to tell them what to do. I think, and have always thought, that a CNA’s job is the most difficult and thankless there is in healthcare. A show of support goes a long way. Don’t try to move him to a new place. You may find similar problems, but at a greater cost. Sorry,
I certainly don’t mean to welcome you and then be a Debbie-downer. I know the members here will have more positive info for you. And keep asking questions!

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janiceanntheresa | @janiceanntheresa | Apr 24 8:41am
In reply to @becsbuddy "@janiceanntheresa Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I’m glad you found this site. All of the members..." + (show)
@becsbuddy

@janiceanntheresa Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I’m glad you found this site. All of the members here are so nice and so helpful. You say that your husband is in a VA home now. How long has he been there? Does he need lots of care? As a retired nurse, I know how it is for families to view the staffing and/or the attitude of staff. The best thing you can do is to start being friendly with the staff. Let your manner show that you aren’t there to criticize them or to try to tell them what to do. I think, and have always thought, that a CNA’s job is the most difficult and thankless there is in healthcare. A show of support goes a long way. Don’t try to move him to a new place. You may find similar problems, but at a greater cost. Sorry,
I certainly don’t mean to welcome you and then be a Debbie-downer. I know the members here will have more positive info for you. And keep asking questions!

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Thank you for your response. I found your answer helpful but I was not criticizing the LPN's who are in charge of his unit. I have tried to and formed a relationsip with them. And it was not easy they are much too busy to speak to you most of the time. I am speaking in regard to those who are the CNA's. There are those who have given me inaccurate information and who do not seem to have much initiative. Those are the people who work there for a paycheck and can IMO be dangerous to those who need a lot of help. Maybe they have an attitude because there is not enough help and too many very mentally ill or sick there but it is concerning. It would be a slippery slope to complain to the Administrator of the facility who is very nice and friendly however having worked for the Government for 35 years criticism is not well tolerated.

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1 reply
Mentor
Becky, Volunteer Mentor | @becsbuddy | Apr 24 6:10pm
In reply to @janiceanntheresa "Thank you for your response. I found your answer helpful but I was not criticizing the..." + (show)
@janiceanntheresa

Thank you for your response. I found your answer helpful but I was not criticizing the LPN's who are in charge of his unit. I have tried to and formed a relationsip with them. And it was not easy they are much too busy to speak to you most of the time. I am speaking in regard to those who are the CNA's. There are those who have given me inaccurate information and who do not seem to have much initiative. Those are the people who work there for a paycheck and can IMO be dangerous to those who need a lot of help. Maybe they have an attitude because there is not enough help and too many very mentally ill or sick there but it is concerning. It would be a slippery slope to complain to the Administrator of the facility who is very nice and friendly however having worked for the Government for 35 years criticism is not well tolerated.

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@janiceanntheresa Yes, I understand that you were speaking of the CNAs. I’m just saying to try to help the CNAs but making their job less stressful. I know that criticism up-the-line is way less than helpful. Not enough help and too many sick patients is, unfortunately, the story of healthcare today. And, also unfortunately, many veterans don’t have families to keep an eye on them.
I’m sorry for the misunderstanding between us—let’s be e-friends!

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janiceanntheresa | @janiceanntheresa | Apr 25 6:21am

Yes let's be friends. I always welcome good and helpful advice. My new problem is dealing with the billing department of mental health for the VA. They seem to have forgotton I paid them 2 onths ago and sent me a bill that does not show payment. It is one thing or another dealing with VA nursing homes. I cannot even get the doctor that services the VA hospital to tell me what is going on with my husband who has Alzheimer'safter he was sent to the hospital from the VA nursing home.

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