quote:
I pay for my caregiver out of pocket. Medicare should help pay for home care because it's more cost-effective for me to take care of my mother at home than if she was in a nursing home.
Amen to that. The system is broken and getting brokener. Just look at this new so-called Drug Benefit. What a nightmare. I mean, I'm taking care of it all for my Dad, but I've seen elderly people on TV in tears trying to figure it out by themselves.

I now have a full-time caregiver for my Dad, and he's doing pretty well, thank the Lord. He'll be 80 in a couple of months. He's had cancer, which is now in remission, and we've had some rough times in the past year. A change of doctors helped tremendously. I'm so glad I did that.

Hugs to all caregivers. Talk about your thankless jobs. Yet I believe it's more than an obligation and duty. To me, it's a sacred trust. They took care of us (as best they could). They should not be shunted off somewhere in holding cells to die, and in my personal opinion that is the function of most nursing homes.

It has been my personal observation that most nursing homes are underfunded and understaffed, and the staff they have is mainly in survival mode, just trying to get through the day in a rather depressing job. That's what I've seen anyway. I wouldn't want to die there, and I won't put my Dad there.

There are exception. There are private nursing facilities that are well staffed by caring, upbeat people, and they are sparkling clean and decorated like 4 and 5 star hotels. But they cost. Oh boy do they cost.