After reading about Judy's trials with getting her husband to the doc....

And then visiting my grandmother (with Alzheimer's) over the weekend and hearing that not only will she not sign the house over to her son (who lives there with her), but she also won't go to the doc to get certified as unable to take care of herself (which would be another way to allow the son to keep the house, I guess)....

And also recently having a discussion with my dad about getting my mom (un-diagnosed HD) to the doc, but she won't go (even though she's obviously not well enough to make that decision) yet he won't force her....

GETTING people with HD and similar illnesses TO the doc seems like a COMMON PROBLEM!

Seems like a basic clinical evaluation (no MRI of course) could easily be done at home for my grandmother, my mom, and probably Judy's husband and others too.

Has anyone had luck with docs doing HOUSE CALLS anymore???? Or if anyone has asked about this, what was the response? I'm sure these days there are also cost issues and other insurance implications....

Sara - When my mom went into the nursing home, she was evaluated by the nursing home social worker and this could have been done at home if she refused to go to the nursing home. She also could have been evaluated at home by the Health Department nurses, so perhaps other states have this available as well - we live in Virginia.

There are legalities that vary state to state. Having an elder care attorney would be the best way to proceed. Taking away decision making from someone else is a big deal. "Just" signing over a house or forcing people to do this or that is not simple. Even having mental limitations is not always cause to remove decision making. Being awarded probably the only wealth someone has like a house is a big deal. Having professionals agree is the first step in competency, but the courts have to be involved too. In Indiana, I called adult protective services... they could make judgments if Teresa agreed to be evaluated. The very first thing they said was, I am here to evaluate you for nursing home placement, may I proceed? Teresa said no.. and that was that. Actually she said a lot more than no... Even with the tirade she preformed, that wasn't a proper evaluation, and the social worker just said... Mr. Waycott you have very big problems... She was sorry she couldn't help, and I know she was sincere in that. But there are laws to be followed. It's best to know what they are rather than just trying to guess who to call next.

Wow Eric. I didn't know that.

Eric - Isn't T in a NH, now? If so, what was the process for getting her there, if not thru APS?

And no - doctors here won't do housecalls! I was rather surprised when Gordon said they are done in Scotland!

jl



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2010 02:09PM by jl.

I had to have T found incompetent though the courts, and have permanent guardianship over her. NH's were really not interested if they couldn't "hold" her legally. She would have had the right to walk out the door. I understand the laws... there are people who take advantage of elderly people who are gullible but not incompetent. It's doublely hard with someone 30-40 years old. No one wants to make the call for someone that age. They have to be way obviously out of it before even our own doctors go for that. Had I talked to a lawyer first.. wouldn't have bothered with other stuff that just sucked up time and energy.

I didn't have to go that far, but the police helped.

When the police picked up L they took her to the Mental Health Hospital and a judge had to cover it every couple of weeks from doctors's notes.

After the last time I had her placed directly from the MH to the NH and it was taken care of then.

She's doing pretty good there now. She's not violent anymore. She seems pretty calm. And her memory is still there, although she cannot communicate very well at all. Only bursts of words.

Well yeah, Eric - through the regular courts, you can get it done.

Adult Protective Services might understandably be slanted toward defending HER.

jl

APS aren't slanted... they follow the law. It simply was not their jurisdiction. So well yeah jl... ya have to use the courts around here. And getting a lawyer first who knows this stuff like, I, well yeah, didn't would have been the better alternative to wasting time. I didn't know everyone had this apparent common knowledge.

They didn't defend her... they couldn't defend us from her. She wasn't suffering abuse. She didn't need defending.

One thing that was a shocker for me is the definition of "adult" in "adult protective services". My mother at 54 was not considered old enough to be considered a protected class in adult protective services. This was totally bizarro to me because my understanding of an adult was a person over the age of 18. It seemed as if this designation was given to the elderly (those over the age of 62), mentally impaired (which I considered my mother to be and what she was eventually found to be!), and those in danger of harming themselves.

It's state by state what each APS is there for. That's why legal advice here general. Same with many legal issues. This has been recognized in Indiana and we have a lawyer speak at the state conference now. You still have to hire him or her or someone.. but the overview points out why ya do.

Adult protective services, in all accounting that I have, are only to protect older people and mentally chanllenged people at home from outright abuse.

In both states I lived in, the only function this agency performed was to remove an abuser and move the victim to a nursing home or similar situation. That's their only function. They don't go around deciding who's sick and who's not. They don't go around helping families of people with care issues. And they don't advise on the best approach to dealing with any other government agency.

If the "adult" in question is lucid enough to appear to be able to say "no" and there is no evidence other wise of any issues that day the APS representative visits, it's off their books. They move on and never come back.

That's it. If someone else has an example of APS doing something other than I described, please tell me where I'm wrong.