Finally, spring is around the corner; the sun is brighter and the days are getting longer. Children\u2019s spring school projects are now underway. This morning you received a phone call from a friend whose mother had a stroke about a month ago asking for your thoughts. Life today is active, especially for women aged 45 \u2014 55 who care for both their parents and children. These are the people caught in the \u201csandwich generation\u201d.
\nHer mom, let\u2019s call her Helen, was young for this stroke that left her partially paralyzed on the right side. She is only 58 and has been in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) for therapy following her hospital stay. Now, she is being given notice that she must either pay privately to stay there or find another place to live.
\nHelen is not able to care for herself yet, and this is hope. So, she is told she can have outpatient therapy to assist her to gain control and strength back. Yet, her insurance has deemed that she has reached full potential and will no longer pay for an SNF. Helen cannot move back home; she will need help. She cannot afford to pay $7,000 a month for the SNF. Helen has a daughter in the Chicago area and a family in Peoria. What are her options?
\nHer age of 58 works against her. Locally, she must be age 65 to get into a supportive living facility (SLF). These are like assisted living facilities (ALF) and much like an apartment with limited assistance for one\u2019s needs. Unlike ALF, SLF will allow a person to stay even after they have spent through their assets. She could probably qualify for SLF, but in Central, Illinois they are licensed for people 65 and over. Therefore, she could not get into an SLF.
\nChicago has at least one SLF that is licensed to accept people under age 65. This is her second option. Her daughter in the Chicago area would be more involved to make this work.
\nThe third option is home health care. Helen does not have the funds to pay about $20 an hour for services every day; nor does she have long-term care insurance to help with these expenses. This option s is not practical.
\nA fourth option would be staying with family and going to outpatient physical therapy. Due to the design of her adult children\u2019s homes, this is not an option. The purpose of this month\u2019s column is to discuss a need here in Central Illinois. Helen\u2019s case is not unique and there are more people suffering from dementia and other conditions that could benefit from an SLF for people under age 65. . Supportive living could cut the state\u2019s Medicaid costs by allowing people like Helen in living in supportive living. When a person is under age 65, the most often used alternative in Central Illinois is a nursing home which has a greater cost.
\nIn addition, an SNF provides for a better quality of life in most cases. This author would suggest Illinois issue a certificate of need for an SLF for Central Illinois and let a private company build and run this facility.
\nCoordinating care for your children and parents simultaneously is not easy. What can you do to manage this? Three words of advice: Plan, Plan, and Plan. Legal, financial, residential, mental, and physical healthcare elements must be addressed prior to a crisis. A sandwich generationer should guide their parent through these issues and the primary issue of safety while being careful not to take all control away from a parent. Once again, it is important to start talking, making suggestions, and guiding early, do not wait for a crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Finally, spring is around the corner; the sun is brighter and the days are getting longer. Children\u2019s spring school projects are now underway. This morning you received a phone call from a friend whose mother had a stroke about a month ago asking for your thoughts. Life today is active, especially for women aged 45 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[37,142,145,148,151],"class_list":["post-1163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emotional-care","tag-assisted-living-facilities","tag-central-illinois","tag-living-facility","tag-skilled-nursing","tag-supportive-living"],"yoast_head":"\n