Never too early to ponder nursing home options

Jan. 26--Colleen Yagalla of Mountain City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center said it's never too early to start thinking about nursing homes.

"People in your age group should be out touring facilities," she suggested to guests at the Freeland Active Adult Center recently.

Knowing what options are out there, she said, can make it easier to find future care.

"A lot of these facilities offer a free lunch. Go to the lunch, learn more about the facility, so when you're in a hospital and faced with a decision, then you're part of the decision making process," said Yagalla, Mountain City's business development director.

Yagalla said a broken bone can land a person in the hospital -- and can require additional care.

"All of a sudden, a social worker appears in your room and says, 'We're going to send you to a nursing home,'" Yagalla said. "Nobody wants to go to a nursing home. However, today more of our nursing homes are more like rehab centers than they are nursing homes."

Yagalla said the patient chooses the nursing home.

Representatives from facilities should visit patients to talk to them about services, costs and their rights. Even though a patient makes a decision, Yagalla said, he or she isn't held to it.

"You can at any time transfer from one facility to another," she explained. "Your insurance is going to cover you the same no matter where you go."

Social workers can help with those transfers, she said.

In most cases, Medicare recipients who have a supplement will find that their nursing home stay will be covered for 100 days.

"Medicare can come in at any time and they can cut. If you've reached your plateau and they feel you're not going to go any further, or if you've reached your goal, and you're ready to return home," she said.

Coverage can vary, she cautioned.

Yagalla also encouraged seniors to have a living will and power of attorney in place.

A living will is a document that explains what medical procedures a patient does or doesn't want if he becomes terminally ill and unable to make his own decisions.

Power of attorney is a document that gives authority to act for another person in legal and financial matters.

"You really need to look for someone who can make decisions for you if you become incapacitated and you can't make your own decisions," Yagalla said. "That's the only way a power of attorney will take effect."

Elder care attorneys can help with living wills and power of attorney, she said.

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