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Family Matters

When Denise Jackson was searching for options for caring for her 87-year old mother, Ethel, who suffers from diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease, she did her research. "My mom taught me to be an informed consumer, so when things just got to be too much, I didn't listen to my brother and sisters telling me to put her in a nursing home. I wanted to find out if there was another way."

Denise's mother had been living with her for six years. At first, the arrangement worked well for both of them. Denise went to work at her hair salon during the day, and a neighbor looked in on Ethel twice a day. "I went home for lunch. My brother filled in on days I couldn't." But as Ethel's condition worsened, Denise worried about her mother's safety, and wondered about the wisdom of leaving her alone even for a few hours.

Denise looked into local nursing homes, especially those with dementia care units, and found that the rates would quickly deplete the savings her parents had put aside. "The minimum we would pay was over $3,000 a month. Mom's money would be gone within two years. And because her savings were too high, she couldn't get Medi-Cal until she spent down. I kept looking."

After ruling out assisted living communities because her mother's condition was too advanced, Denise looked at local board-and-care providers. "We could manage that financially, but at that point I realized that I wanted my mother to live at home. But I didn't want to sacrifice my career to do it." With new resolve, Denise contacted home health agencies in her area, but found that the hourly rates (anywhere from $12 to $25 per hour) added up quickly. Even if Denise used them only while she was at work, the total cost approached that of a nursing home.

Then, on a friend's advice, Denise contacted the Adult Day Care center in her community. Their rate of $34 per day came out to be less than half the cost of home care. Denise can drop her mom off on her way to work each day, pick her up at the end of the day, and still drops by for lunch. "And my mom gets out of the house, she's involved in activities, eats right, and, critical to my peace of mind, she is safe."

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