By AnneMarie Knepper
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Sunday, April 13, 2008 12:00 am
Last September, Corvallis resident Ann Flanagan moved her mother Merry from an apartment in St. Paul, Minn., to a retirement community in Corvallis.
The big move came after Merry, 85, mentioned during a phone conversation that she "just wasn't as fast as she used to be" and that she wanted to move closer to her adult children.
Flanagan said she was relieved. She knew it was time to move her mother to somewhere with trained staff. She wasn't looking forward to telling her mother, who was a vibrant, intelligent woman, that she thought she needed help. Ann had even made a script for "breaking the subject" to her mother with a friend.
"I just thought, 'thank you,' because I had already discussed it with my sister. Lots of times people in my boat have parents that resist ferociously," she said. "She just gave me on a platter what I wanted, and I know that is unusual."
Demographic forecasts provided by the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments and created by the Oregon Department of Human Services show that by 2030, the number of people 75 and older in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties will have increased by 150 percent.
It is anticipated the number of people age 65 to 74 will jump 41 percent between 2005 and 2025 in both Linn and Benton counties.
Experts say it is never too early to start looking at care options for aging parents.
For Flanagan, the planning started last summer when her mother reported that she was faltering physically and mentally.
In September, Flanagan moved her mother to Stoneybrook Lodge, a retirement living community in Corvallis.
Then Merry became ill and was hospitalized.
"That's when we got the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease," Ann said.
Shortly after the diagnosis, the hospital discharge coordinator informed her Regent Court was the only live-in memory care facility in Corvallis and it just so happened, the facility had an opening.
"A lot of times, I know, many people in the same situation are trying to get their family member in for weeks or months," Flanagan said. "I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones."
Flanagan, 55, said she is grateful her mother was proactive and willing to make tough decisions while she was still able, including transferring control of her finances and giving power of attorney to her daughters long before Alzheimer's set in.
A starting point
Where should people turn first in gathering information about elder-care options?
"Local senior services is a good starting point," said Kevin McNamara, administrator at Corvallis Manor, a nursing and rehabilitation center.
He said once a family establishes a care facility is needed for their loved one, medicare.gov is a good next step.
"Each year nursing homes go through a surprise survey and inspection by the state to continue to be certified," he said. "That survey process is extremely extensive. Medicare.gov lists results of those surveys on facilities so people can at least see a sort of grade the state has given."
Some facilities do not take Medicaid patients and others have a system where the family must pay for a certain amount of time before the facility starts taking Medicaid.
To qualify for Medicaid an individual must make less than $638.70 a year and have less than $2,000 in assets, excluding in some situations a vehicle, a home and burial costs, said Roxanne Beach, program manager for Senior and Disability Services.
The income standard for couples is $956.
She said many people "spend down" until they qualify.
'We were just fortunate'
"We were just fortunate that my dad and mom had always been very frugal and had the money to be able to fund it, because it is not inexpensive," Flanagan said of her mother's full-time care.
Carolyn Brumley, also of Corvallis, said she believes keeping her family member as independent as possible has helped ease the transition and keep costs down.
Brumley, 62, found herself in a situation neither she, nor the person needing care, ever imagined.
Carolyn is caring for her mother-in-law Bernice, 90.
"Our goal all along has been to keep mom independent and that's been frugal as well. And we've been lucky."
Brumley has found she could get the services her mother-in-law needed delivered to her home at a fraction of the cost of moving her to an elder-care facility.
She said hiring "home health aides" or people to help with tasks such as housekeeping or personal care services, has helped saved her family a lot of money. Bernice seems happy with the arrangement, too.
"I've been fortunate in that she was a particularly cheerful woman and very pleasant with everybody she deals with," Brumley said. "I don't have any problems hiring people to work with her because she is not a grumpy old lady."
Both Flanagan and Brumley volunteer for Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA) and are trained to help answer questions about Medicare, Medicare supplement insurance, long term care insurance and medical claims. (The phone number of SHIBA is (800) 722-4134).
Even having familiarity with the system, both women said it can sometimes be overwhelming.
"There are lots of resources," Brumley said. "You just have to look and not be afraid to ask."