QUESTION
How do we keep our mother out of a nursing home or rehab center until she tests negative for the virus. and how do we get her tested out of the hospi
Asked on May 04th, 2020 on Elder Law - North Carolina
More details to this question:
My mother went to the hospital for a UTI. When she left home she had no temp. When she got to the hospital they said she had a temp and then they tested her and said she was positive for the Virus.. In two weeks they retested her two or three times and said she is still positive. She was never sick and when they gave her the drugs for the UTI and the virus she was quickly well. One doctor suggested we hold her food and let her die, because she was old (95) and disorientated. Now they want to put her in a rehab place even though she is testing positive. Who else may be it in that place. We cannot get the care givers she has had for several years to come until she tests negative twice. We want to bring her home, but until she is tested negative how do we do this. Both my sister and I live out of state. Our brother lived next door to her, but his wife has a pacemaker and he has health problems also. All three of the siblings are over 65 years.
1 ANSWER
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If I understand you correctly, you and your sister would rather expose yourselves and have your mother die in your home or in your sister's home in another state that have her cared for and die in a nursing home where she might infect others.
This may not be doable. She may not be able to travel. If she is able to travel, it probably cannot be by public transportation, such as a plane. If you or your sister drive to get her, put her in a car and drive her to one of your homes, you are greatly increasing the chance that you will become infected and unable to care for her or yourselves.
You write that you and your siblings are all over 65. A Kaiser Family Foundation study of people over 65 admitted to hospitals with covid-19 found that ALL of those who were placed on ventilators died. You and your sister could also infect others.
If your mother is 95 and ill enough that she needs 24/7 care, she may not survive the trip. This is particularly true if she is as near death as the doctor described: someone who is better off receiving comfort care. If she is, please note that as we approach death, our bodies know that we do not need further nutrition. Withholding it is not starving someone to death: it is letting life take its course.
While your wish to care for your mother is laudable, sadly, you may not be able to carry it out. After discussing the situation further with your siblings, you might want to see whether you can communicate with your mother by tablet or by cell phone and then talk with a discharge planner at the hospital. A hospital is not allowed to discharge someone to an unsafe environment. Given what you wrote of your mother's condition, discharge to a skilled nursing facility may be much safer than discharge to your car and your home.
I know this must be difficult, excrutiatingly painful. Too many of us are in this position, having to accept what we would otherwise find unacceptable.
Answered on May 05th, 2020 at 5:37 AM
This is general information. It cannot substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. It is not intended to be legal advice or imply an attorney-client relationship.