Mom's Geriatric Assessment

The following information was provided in a conversation today with Kathy Greene, our geriatric care manager (did I mention she is great and a Godsend. Thanks again, Eileen, for finding her!)

Kathy talked to the Powdersville Rescue Squad (PRS), who provide stretcher transport (sounds like a long way off but is the one Kathy recommends. We can always change if we don’t like them for some reason.) They say Mom would definitely be eligible for Medicare-funded transport to each of her doctor’s visits. I will be calling them tomorrow to arrange for that service for Mom’s appointment on Thursday. PRS will fax Certificate of Medical Necessity to Dr. Pugh’s office; he will sign and return to PRS (I’ll also be calling Tracey to alert her).

That’s all there is to it. Form will have to be processed, though, each time Mom has the need to be transported but will cover ALL of her Dr appts. There will no longer be a need for the local people to take Mom to her appts. (24-hour notice is required; emergency trips would still be family trips, or a 911 call.)

Kathy is sending me her proposed Care Plan as well as information on a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, which I will send on to all of you. (Problems with email are slowing us down.) Discussed both Hospice and DNR with Kathy. According to her, both are “calls” that a doctor would have to make and “order”/suggest based on her/his assessment of Mom’s condition. I’ll be discussing both with the Dr. Shalley on Thursday to confirm. Again according to Kathy, in the case of Hospice, Mom’s current med regimen would likely continue “as is” with no add’l “heroic” measures/meds being taken to prolong her life. The doctor would also have to feel fairly certain that Mom had less than 6 months to live to qualify Mom for Hospice. Hospice care would mean nurses coming in several times a week and an Aide to assist with bathing. (All-in-all, pretty much the same thing she has now.) Mom would not be eligible for a Hospice facility until she was in her very final days, with only a couple of weeks to live.

I’m hoping to put a list together tomorrow of all the questions we’ll want to have covered on Thursday. I’ll pass around so you can add any add’l thoughts you might have. Hoping they can give me some indication of where we are on Thursday but we’ll probably have to wait until all the tests come back to understand the whole picture. It is my understanding that the entire package of results will be going to Pugh also.