Dear Aviva,
My mother has been hospitalized for the past two weeks. We feel she is not well enough to go home as she cannot get up to go to the bathroom or walk, but they seem ready to discharge her. Our family wants her to stay in the hospital because we are nervous about what happens when she goes home. What should we do?
Sincerely,
Senior in Savyon
Dear Senior,
You have definitely identified a big problem in the system for seniors. The hospital says, “we fixed the problem!” but the person is obviously not back to functioning the way were prior to the incident. Here, you have several options. First, your mother may be eligible for a rehab facility if she is after surgery or a stroke. Either the hospital has a rehab facility or there is a nearby one. The kupah will subsidize this facility, or, a respite facility, basically a nursing home, for a temporary stay, if your mother needs more care temporarily.
You can also get temporary assistance through bituach leumi, if your mother qualifies for needing assistance, through Matav, extra hours of physical assistance in the house. Private companies, like Tigbor, will come and assess the situation and apply for bituach leumi on your behalf, streamlining the process.
Lastly, if you feel that your mother needs 24-hour care, and it will be ongoing, you can apply for a foreign worker license, and after assessing that your mother meets the criteria, you can hire a live-in caregiver.
Yours in health,
Aviva.
Ask Aviva #17: Why didn’t the doctor tell me how to get the medicine?!
