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Elder CareTips:
Mastering The Eldercare Maze™
April 15, 2005
A Rehabilitation
"Gotcha:"
Why 100 Days Isn't 100 Days
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When her mother had a stroke Sandy didn't know the first
thing about Medicare defined benefits and "Rehabilitation
Days." Because she had never heard the terms and didn't know
how the system works she may have made some costly mistakes
when her mother was discharged from the hospital to a
skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation.
What Sandy discovered about how Medicare counts hospital
days and benefit periods was important, because it had a
direct impact on how much treatment her mother would be
entitled to. The potential impact of Medicare rules needed
to be taken into account when Sandy made plans for her
mother's care.
Edith, Sandy's mother, spent a several days in the hospital
after her stroke. The therapists then recommended that Edith
move to a skilled nursing facility for more therapy. Edith
was improving, but she needed more rehabilitation.
Edith had a good secondary insurance policy, so Sandy wasn't
worried about her mother's rehabilitation being covered. She
knew Medicare would cover up to a maximum of 100 days of
inpatient therapy. When the rehab center said they were
ready to send Edith home, Sandy advocated tirelessly for her
mother to be allowed to continue therapy. Sandy ultimately
convinced the center to keep Edith several more weeks.
Read The Rest...
| Wisdom doesn't necessarily
come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by
itself.
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Mother's Day is May 8. Have you panicked
yet? Do you have a wonderful idea for something your mother
will love, doesn't already have, won't take up too much
space or have to be dusted, doesn't cost an arm and a leg
and that you won't have to drive all over town trying to
find?
No? Didn't think so. Me, too.
Make a quick visit to our
Gift Ideas page. There is quite a selection of
affordable, interesting, unique and fun ideas that will
appeal to our older loved ones - both men and women.
Elder CareTip
Will They Be Able To Find You?
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How long has it been since you really
looked at the front of your older person's home? If it's a
house - single or multiple family - take a slow cruise past
the front next time you visit. Can you see the house number
easily from the street? Numbers painted on the curb fade
over time, and you can't see them if there is a car parked
in front of them. Numbers on the side of the building can
fade or become obscured by foliage that has grown up.
Numbers on the door are often too small to be easily read
from the street.
Put yourself in the shoes of emergency personnel and freshen
up your home I.D. Make sure the house number reflects light
at night and that there is good color contrast against the
house during the day. Make them bigger than you think they
need to be so anyone can read them from the street.
You can also buy portable flashers to put in a front window
or on the front stoop to further alert emergency personnel
that they have the right address. But the house number comes
first.
| Fear grows in darkness; if
you
think there's a bogeyman around,
turn on the light.
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