The Nursing Home Survival Guide: An Insider's Perspective on Everything from Admission to Discharge

UPDATED FOR 2014!!! The updated Nursing Home Survival Guide is the ultimate guide to everything you'll need to know about nursing homes. Whether your family member requires long-term placement or a short-term admission for rehabilitation, this book covers the many different types of payment sources available, the admissions process, how to be discharged (even if the nursing home doesn't want to let you go), dying with dignity in a nursing home and everything in between. This book was written with the goal of empowering the patient and family so that they will have a positive experience. This updated edition includes: • How Cutbacks and recent changes in healthcare laws affect nursing home patients. • Why it's best to have the patient admitted in the morning, and what to do when medications aren't available for up to 24 hours after the patient has been admitted. • What to bring, how to ensure the patient's items won't be lost, and how to make the nursing home accountable for lost items. • How to save money on nursing home costs. • When to contact an Elder Law Attorney in order to become eligible for Medicaid to pay for a patient’s room & board. • How to search a nursing home's track record, and find out if either the Administrator or Director of Nursing has experienced any problems with their licensing board. • Annual inspections, complaint investigations and Ombudsman issues. • How to keep your loved one safe. • Medicare co-payments and deductibles for 2014.