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Can they do this? She is 78 and lives alone. The Rehab facility she is in, wants to release her 2 days before my husband can get down to AZ to take care of her. Can they legally do this. She will be 2 weeks post surgery when they release her, but she will not be able to drive yet.

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Do they want to release her because she's met all her PT goals and insurance won't pay for more rehab? I'm sure she could stay as a private pay client. Or she could stay at a local hotel for two nights.

Talk to the social worker at the facility.
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There has to be a medical reason, not a social reason to keep her. Otherwise, she does not meet the criteria for Medicare to continue inpatient treatment and would have to be private pay for her remaining stay. Medicare will provide PT in the home 2-3 days a week until she is no longer home bound, plus a few hours a day of a home health aide as long as she has a skilled need, like in home PT. After that, she is entitled to outpatient PT, but would have to get herself there. You might consider hiring a private duty aide 24/7 until your husband can get there. It's probably cheaper than two nights in the rehab.
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I would try and negotiate something with the rehab facility. Tell them you consider her discharge to be "unsafe discharge"; words that the facility does not like to hear. Your mother could refuse to be discharged until there is a care provider in the home IF she truly can't get around on her own without support and cook her meals. This is a huge problem today in a world of long distance relationships and dual income families. They may agree to keep her one more day if an aide can help on the second day with your husband arriving soon thereafter. It all about negotiating in the best interest of the patient.
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The previous posters have responded with what I would have said. Your choices are paying out of pocket until your husband can get there, in my area that would cost $350-$400 per day, You could have 24 hour home care come in at $22-25 per hour in my area. There is also an option of Respite care in a personal care home that might be less than what is mentioned previously. Many skilled rehab facilities have personal care on their property. If they have a bed in personal care they will usually take a respite stay. If they don't have one on the property the social worker will help you find a place in a price range you can afford and if she can't afford it they will help file the paperwork for public programs. If you live at a distance having her go to respite care in a personal care home to gain her strength can often help you in the long run. It is harder to get seniors to agree to return to a facility after they are home even if they are not able to care for themselves. When you live at a distance it's hard to monitor their ability to care for themselves. It's often better to transition someone to personal care to see how they can function. If they gain their strength and can function independently the moving them home is a good choice. If they are not able to gain their strength then they could get comfortable in personal care and decide they want to stay or you decide to move them with you or research another options. Once you get them home with support they want to stay there. This is a complicated decision making time. Finances play an important role in the process. The paperwork for public programs is extensive and the social worker at the facility can get it completed. Once she leaves the facility you will need to navigate it alone. If you live at a distance you might want to get there to determine the best options for her individual situation. Sometimes the home is not accessible for her to function and this leads to other concerns. You and your husband are at a point where big decisions need to be discussed with her and addressed. I personally would not want to bring her home until her legal and financial affairs are in order and until you are certain she can continue to live independently. Your situation sounds like one that can unravel and become difficult to manage, especially from a distance.
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I assume your mother's care is currently covered by Medicare. My experience is that the facility MUST issue you a "notice of right to appeal". I think the number of days one has in which to respond is partly covered by law (the minimum being at least one day) although the facility may have a policy of a slightly longer time. They have to also provide you with the phone number and a form on which to register your appeal. I have done this two or three times for my Mom when she was to be released early than we thought optimum for her. Although I was quite sincere and honest in my disagreement with their proposed timing, the additional advantage is that it takes Medicare AT LEAST a day or two to review and decide the appeal. The facility must send them medical records so that they can make an independent review and then grant or deny the appeal. In my Mom's case, we won the appeal once and lost once but in all instances she gained at least another 2-3 days of covered care. If the facility does not provide you with this written notice of her right to appeal, I suggest you inquire about it and insist that she NOT be released until she (or you on her behalf if you have POA) has had an opportunity to appeal the discharge and Medicare has reviewed and decided your appeal. Good luck and Angels Watch Over You!
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Your mother is in rehab because of knee replacement, not because of a life threatening illness. In my opinion, claiming "unsafe discharge" is inappropriate, and gaming the system only makes it harder on future patients who really do need extra time in inpatient rehab. If you want her to remain in rehab for extra days, you ought to pay for it. Most people are told to wait 6 weeks before driving after knee replacement. Most surgeons agree that it takes at least 4 weeks after knee replacement for the person to be back at their baseline braking levels. Driving is a serious task and your mom's knee needs to be strong enough to brake the car. Work with the social worker on a solution that not only covers the days until you can get there but also until she really is capable of driving.
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We were in a similar position - rehab wanted to release my mom but her new apartment wasn't quite ready - we private paid three extra days.
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The inflexibility of Medicare. The entire system needs to be upgraded like any long term illness, the challenge of progression.
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No--the government controls the number of days a person can stay in a rehab facility! I'd think she could either stay another couple of days for private pay. Maybe someone else could pick her up. In my area Comfort Keepers are available around the clock for needs including transportation for $22 an hour. There's also Care Companion although this one is a little cheaper it's not a 24hr operation. Maybe she could stay with family until she can get around.
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I love the idea of using an appeal to buy you time! But think about what you will do if it's granted....
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All good comments above - whether she can drive is not the determining factor

My mom at 84 had a broken shoulder, a broken back, renal failure from dehydration and an UTI requiring IV antibiotics and was released from rehab

Do what you can to bridge the time to your arrival but please don't assume your mom can live independently - knee replacement can be painful and infection can occur - you need a plan in place - if you are not her POA both financially and for health decisions then get this paperwork handled as well or could have a real crisis in an emergency situation

Also how kind of your husband going to help your mom
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akgirl1961: They actually can and do do this! We had my late mother all set up in the rehab bed of the NH, expecting her to go to long-term unit when she was ready BECAUSE SHE COULD NOT CONTINUE TO LIVE ALONE IN HER OWN HOME HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY FROM HER ADULT CHILDREN. One of those adult children was me. About 8 days in at the NH they had a family meeting, including my late mother and said to her "maam, you're too well to stay here." What a load, because less than 48 hours later at said NH she suffered an ischemic stroke, was transported to the hospital, where she later deceased. The NH did a "CYA" by calling me at the hospital asking me "do I want to do a bed hold?" That, of course, would have been at $410/day. Had I actually permanently lived in Massachusetts (my mother's home was there), but since I had to uproot my life and move in with my mother for the remainder of her life, I could have sued, but at that point, I was DONE! My mother just about drove me insane!
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I dont know about other states but we can keep someone in a rehab facility ir up to three
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My mother was in rehab for three months at a nursing home facility. That is the length of time they are given to get the rehab they need and become able to care for themselves. Where we live there are several facilities that do this and they are on a rehab wing not with the other nursing home residents who are there all the time. The rehab team usually tells you if they think she will be able to manage alone or not. I would discuss this with them they might suggest that she needs more rehab before going home. Just an idea. Good luck and God Bless
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Tedfs57: Not always 3 months! I can attest to that!!!!!!!
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My sister recently had knee replacement surgery. The number of days in a rehab facility she had was zero. She went from hospital to home, well before she could drive. She had family to help her out for a few days while she was on strong pain pills. She got around well with a knee scooter. She had in-home PT. She recovered well.

The point is that there is not some magic number of in-facility rehab days that everyone who has knee replacement should have. Some might need none, others a couple of weeks, others longer. The determining factors concern meeting rehab goals.
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