Mary’s mother and sister needed help. Lots of it. The sister, Violet, is developmentally disabled and needs 24-hour care. Janice, their mother, was Violet’s sole caregiver for over 50 years. Mary knew that Janice was becoming increasingly confused, but it seemed like she was still taking great care of Violet. Then, Janice and Violet went for a long walk that ended with them wandering into a local nursing home and Janice asking if they could move in. Alarmed, a manager at the facility called for help.
Janice was admitted to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, and Janice was placed in temporary care. Mary, their only local family member, assumed the responsibility of caring for them. But she needed help addressing the needs of an elderly parent and a sibling.
Can Janice return home? Can Violet? Did they both need 24-hour care? Who’s going to provide care? How are they going to pay for it? Making matters worse, Mary learned that Violet recently lost her lifelong Medicaid benefits after her mother failed to maintain Violet’s eligibility. Violet had no health insurance. Mary was at a loss and completely overwhelmed.
Recognizing her distress, a social worker at the hospital gave Mary the number for Rothkoff Law Group. She thought we may have some answers. We did.
After Mary’s first meeting at our firm, we put a plan in place to help Mary determine where her mother and sister should live, the amount of care they needed, and how to access and maintain public benefits. Janice and Violet each have their own Elder Care Coordinator (ECC). The ECCs helped Mary decide to place her mother in a long-term care community and worked with Mary to transition Violet home, where Mary is now her full-time caregiver.
Our public benefits team is working with Mary to obtain Medicaid to pay for her mother’s care costs. The benefits group already helped Mary reinstate Violet’s Medicaid. In addition, Mary had an issue of which she was unaware – she did not have the authority to make decisions for her mother and sister. We helped Mary become the legal guardian of both her mother and sister.
Now, not only does Mary now have a plan, but she also has a team of experts at her side to support and coach her through her new role as caregiver for her mother and sister.
Assisting those like Mary makes our jobs worthwhile.
