As a senior advocate every day I get frantic phone calls and every day I see people in crises. I help people navigate our health-care system. It’s broken and it’s heartbreaking.
The other day I received a phone call from a wife, “Can you please come help me? Will you please come to my house? I don’t know what to do.”
I walk into her house and I see her husband sitting in feces. No one is there to help them. She’s so sick she can’t possibly do anything. She has home health which her physician ordered, but they weren’t there.
She keeps calling and begging them to come, but they can’t because Medicare only allows them to come once a day.
They are trapped in our broken health care system. This is unacceptable!!!
Once a day, really???
This is one of many calls I’ve received over the years. It’s getting worse, not better.
A dear friend called me because her husband was in the hospital. The doctor told her that he had to go to a rehabilitation facility.
She told him no, COVID is rampant in rehabs and she was going to send him to an assisted living facility where he could receive care and physical therapy.
The doctor informed her that if she didn’t do what he informed her to do, he would discharge him against medical advice and Medicare would not pay her hospitalization bill.
As if she didn’t have enough to worry about, let’s add more stress. Thankfully, she called me.
That is simply not true. He can go to an assisted living community and he’s been in one for 3 weeks now.
And guess what, he’s thriving and getting stronger every day.
I could write about my experiences for pages and pages. This was only two days this month, and I work seven days a week.
We as human beings have to step up. People are suffering.
Our system is turning a blind eye. It’s our seniors who are falling into the dark hole we call the health-care system and this just shouldn’t be happening.
Our medical community must stand up to the insurance industry for something to change. Business people, insurance agents are NOT licensed doctors. Doctors go to school for 10 plus years. The people making decisions for our health care may or may not have gone to school at all. It’s time to stand up!
By the way, I did help the gentleman sitting in his feces. I gave him a bath and made his wife a cup of tea. You would have done the same, RIGHT?
If you need help or encouragement as a Caregiver give us a call at 386-847-2322 or check out our Caregiver Support Group. Our Senior Advisors are here to walk with you through this journey.
