Mr. V was an 87 year-old man with Parkinson’s dementia, heart failure, and general failure to thrive. He had been living in an assisted living community for several years, and used to be quite active, but his health was declining rapidly to the point where he was refusing to eat or drink. He would alternate between sleeping for hours on end, to being very agitated and trying to get up, despite being a considerable fall risk.
The family and doctor decided to get him on a hospice program. The hospice agency initially took care of Mr. V in his assisted living apartment, but it became necessary to employ in-home caregivers to stay with him round-the-clock, in addition to the caregiving staff at the community, and the visits from hospice. The assisted living plus in-home care costs became too high for the family to bear, so they turned to us for help.
We found Mr. V a wonderful adult foster care home, where he received 24 hour care by an awake staff. Hospice followed him to his new home, and cared for him there. It was a much better-suited environment for him, and although the costs were still quite high with 24-hour care, it was much less expensive than having the round-the-clock in-home caregiver.
Mr. V lived for 6 months in his new home before he passed away. The family thanked us for our help and said that they were grateful for the care he received in his final months.
