Alzheimer’s Disease: The Game Changer
In my practice as an estate planning and elder law attorney, we have answers to just about every question and solutions to just about every problem. The one constant difficult issue that arises on a regular basis is a client who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and how to provide the care that they need to keep them safe as long as possible. Certainly, keeping somebody at home is a much better option than taking them out of their environment into another situation but as this disease progresses, the individuals will often get combative and violent and oftentimes cannot remain in the home. There are several wonderful care options at assisted living facilities that are called memory units. Unfortunately, these are private pay situations with no ability for government funds to help assist or pay for this type of living. Oftentimes, memory care units can cost somewhere between $7,000 and $9,000 a month which often becomes cost prohibitive. In many cases, the individual ends up being placed in a nursing home not because a nursing home is the right place for the client, but rather because there are ways to have the government assist with the funding of the approximate $12,000 to $13,000 a month of care.
Whether or not this is the best place for the individual is certainly debatable but for some families it is simply not an option. Alzheimer’s is a very difficult disease and our hats off to all caregivers out there who are assisting to the best of their ability.
Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or comments at 717-845-5390.