Answering the tough questions about senior care

COEUR d'ALENE - Marie Edinger said she's on the verge of tearing her hair out over her mother.

After moving the 91-year-old into an assisted living facility, Edinger said she has heard about constant arguments between the facility staff and owners, and cases where the food was so poor it was thrown out and residents were given Ensure instead.

"We're having to look for another assisted living place, but most have Alzheimer's people mixed with the people who don't have dementia, and it makes it hard for someone not in that kind of state to interact socially," Edinger said.

On Tuesday, she got a little advice. And from a whole panel of service providers, no less.

"Finding a proper location for a loved one can be hard. Some places you're not going to get a direct answer (to your questions) and some places will," said Sheila Eating with Garden Plaza of Post Falls, who was surrounded by other senior care professionals at First Presbyterian Church. "But I guarantee you that any one of us up here can give you good information."

And they can give information on practically anything else senior-care related, too.

Tuesday marked the latest presentation by CARS, Care And Recovery Services, a coalition of local senior care providers who tour the community dispensing information about the myriad services available to the elderly.

The group gives a free presentation at least once a month to different organizations and facilities, said member Connie Clark. Members discuss their separate fields and services, as well as the several funding sources people can utilize to obtain such services.

"A bunch of us in the industry got together because we kept getting questions that ranged outside our range of expertise," said Clark, owner of Home Helpers, a non-medical home care provider. "We needed to know who do we refer them to, and what's the answer? So we put our group together to help educate the public."

CARS members include representatives of social services, home care services, senior health insurance services and veterans services.

As demonstrated on Tuesday, when the group gave its presentation to the women's association at First Presbyterian, members don't sugarcoat their information.

"I always say I'm the place nobody ever wants to come," said Mary Thomas with LaCrosse Health and Rehabilitation, which offers long and short-term rehabilitation and respite care. "Years ago, when mom and dad had to come in to (skilled nursing facilitates), they never came out."

But that has changed, she said.

The focus at such facilities is now on rehabilitating clients as quickly as possible so they can return home all the sooner, she said. Sometimes even hospice patients are released back home.

Although it's pricey - ranging up to $6,400 a month - most intensive rehabilitation programs are covered by insurance programs for 20 to 100 days, Thomas said.

"If people would take advantage of them, they wouldn't end up back in the hospital," she said.

Heather Taber, a senior health insurance benefits adviser, discussed navigating the many benefits offered by Medicare and Medicaid, and where seniors can turn to for help. Terri Radford of North Idaho Home Health spoke on assessing whether at-home services or skilled at-home services are needed.

Betsy Bullard spoke on the Area Agency on Aging, which helps adults 60 and older find services to help them stay independent in their own homes.

Lisa Turpin with Auburn Crest Hospice emphasized the need to fill out a POST form - Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment - that specify how individuals want to be treated if they enter a state where they can't communicate their needs.

"Age is irrelevant. You need to put that down on paper," Turpin said, pointing out the controversy over Terri Schiavo. "When you're in the hospital, we won't look at your living will, we'll look at your POST form."

Hayden resident Nancy Barger asked the panel how to help her resistant parents. Her father, over 90, refuses to seek help or move into an assisted living home, she said.

"My mom is on a first-name basis with the emergency services people who have to come out to their house," Barger said.

Clark told her parents often resist their children trying to take care of them.

She said that Barger could call non-medical care facilities to evaluate what kinds of assistance the couple might need.

"They do have the right to refuse it, and that happens often," Clark said. "But at least you've taken the right step so if and when something does happen, you know what to do."

Clark said the panel will give a presentation to any group that asks them to. Organizations can make arrangements by calling her at: 769-9560.

"There are a lot of things people don't know, and usually what happens is a family is thrown into a crisis situation because something happens to someone," she said. "They're like, 'Oh gosh, what do we do?' This way, we're there to answer questions."