I earn a living by working in a hospital in the department of Human Resources. Hospitals are heavily regulated and one of the most stringent agencies who monitor us is The Joint Commission. One of the standards they have for human resources is that it’s our responsibility to determine if the people we hire are competent enough to safely do their jobs. I won’t bore you with the details on how that’s done but in working on a project related to competency determination today, I thought about what competencies are required to be a family caregiver. It’s not an easy job but for some reason, insurance carriers and the government seems to believe that any family member should be able to be a caregiver.
Just before my father-in-law died last month, I was attempting to assist my mother-in-law in finding someone who could take care of him if he was discharged to hospice care. We discovered that once a person is deemed not to be able to improve but instead just needs comfort care or maintenance care that Medicare and insurance companies no longer pay for help regardless of the health and well-being of the family member responsible for his care. My mother-in-law is near 80 and has myasthenia gravis, a neurological condition that makes all her muscles very weak. She cannot lift or move anything more than a few pounds in weight. There was no way that she could provide care for her spouse; however, that factor was not considered by insurance and she was unable to get any type of financial assistance to bring someone in to care for him or to place him in skilled care facility. Why? Because insurance said he did not need skilled care; just palliative care.
I’ve found the same is true for someone who is totally disabled and cannot improve their health, like Lynn. His MS has progressed to secondary progressive and he can do nothing physical for himself; not even scratch an itch. He is an author and writes manuscripts with the use of a verbal command program that writes what he dictates. It’s slow going but it keeps him productive and fortunately, so far his memory has not been affected by the disease. With Lynn needing total care and my needing to work full time to pay the bills, I looked for help that we could afford. I now pay an individual to work six hours a day 2-3 days a week to assist him with typing, feed him, and make sure he has liquids to drink. I provide all the rest of his care. Am I competent to truly care for him? What type of competencies do I need to keep him safe and healthy? If someone was to apply for my job, what would my job description as a caregiver look like?
continue reading at: http://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/caregivers-perspective-competent-job/
Wow Donna you are an Angel. I came across your Blog recently and I can relate as a Caregiver. You have addressed a major issue in the Health Care Industry. I am also apart of a Great Support Group online called Dementia Caregivers and several people have addressed this same issue. I applaud you for being such a Great Caregiver to your spouse Lynn and I am glad that your able to get some help for a few hours a week. I am in a similar dilemma myself with being a full time Caregiver to my Mom. If she had Medicaid I could get paid to care for her. However because she is a Home Owner with some assets we would have to liquidate them in order to be eligible for some assistance or pay privately.
Totally agree with you
I wondered if I was competent to care for Bill after he suffered his first stroke. Although I had fifteen years experience working in a nursing home but as an activities assistant, not a CNA. Bill didn’t need much in the way of activities since he could initiate his own once he was set up either with his computer or a talking book. By the way, did you find someone to help with your father-in-law’s care, or did he pass away before you had to face that possibility? I’m sorry for your loss.
Thanks for checking in. He passed away before we were able to get someone.