How to Admit an Elderly Person to a Rest Home

If you are the caregiver for an elderly person, the day may come when you have to make the difficult decision to admit that person to a rest home, also known as a skilled nursing facility. Perhaps your loved one can no longer live alone, and there is no one who can provide 24-hour care, or perhaps your loved one has complex care needs or a cognitive disability that leads to unsafe behavior. Whatever the case, there are important things you need to know about admitting your loved one to a facility that can best meet his or her needs.

Things You'll Need

• Means to pay for care--assets, long-term care insurance or Medicaid
• Durable power of attorney or guardianship (if your loved one is incapacitated)

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Instructions

• 1

  Get legal paperwork in place. If your loved one is mentally incapacitated, you will need either a durable power of attorney, executed before your loved one became incapacitated, that lists you as your loved one's health care agent, or letters of guardianship from a court before you can sign your loved one into a rest home.

• 2

  Figure out finances. Rest home care can cost more than $5,000 per month, and Medicare does not pay for long-term, custodial care. The most common payor sources are personal assets such as bank accounts, certificates of deposit or retirement plans, long-term care insurance and the state's Medicaid program.

• 3

  Tour several facilities prior to deciding where to admit your loved one. Medicare offers a list of considerations to bear in mind while touring rest homes.

• 4

  Complete any pre-admission requirements. You will probably, for instance, have to take your loved one to his or her doctor for a physical exam prior to admission.

• 5

  Sign required admission documents. These typically include a form acknowledging that you have been notified of the rest home's policies and procedures and of your loved one's rights, and a form giving the rest home permission to admit and treat your loved one. Read any form before you sign it. If you do not understand it, ask the admissions coordinator to explain it, or take it to an attorney for review. Ask the facility to give you copies of everything you sign.

• 6

  Work with the facility staff to help your loved one settle in to the facility. Help introduce your loved one to staff and other residents. Decorate your loved one's room with familiar belongings and family pictures. Above all, be available to listen non-judgmentally to your loved one while he or she expresses feelings about the move.