Carenet Inc.

The Health Care System has now become impossible for seniors to navigate. With Medicare, Medicare Supplemental Plans, Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicaid, and VA benefits, one needs an expert more than ever. A recent friend injected a little humor into the situation:

COVID-19 has changed the entire health care industry. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have had a plethora of COVID cases since April 2020. There has been a great deal of negative publicity as a result of the Mass Media circus. Media has trashed the entire industry to the point where fear now dominates the placement of the elderly in facilities.

There are now facilities that admit only COVID patients from hospitals in order to isolate the pandemic. There are facilities that have been placed under quarantine, temporarily closing them to admissions. This is a brave new world, one none of us ever expected in our lifetime.

One of the reasons for the slowdown in admission to facilities is that there are a number of families where one or both spouses are out of work during the pandemic. This allows families to retain elderly, invalid parents at home, with family members providing the care. This combined with the fear of the parent(s) contracting COVID has radically affected the number of patients being admitted. The entire industry is suffering.

But here is the real question. What is going to happen to all these individuals when family members return to work, predictably in early 2021 when a viable vaccine is distributed around the country? Potentially, there could be a deluge of admissions along with Medicaid applications for the elderly in the first quarter of the year.
Families should be proactive in preparing for this inevitability!

Before crisis strikes, it is essential that families contact Eldercare attorneys and professional case managers to explore all options and to become educated on record keeping and appropriate financial planning. One of the major problems that families confront are last minute crises when elderly parents are admitted to hospitals with no plan in place. The family is then at the mercy of the system.

CARENET, Inc. has been assisting families for over twenty-five years to manage crises. We will continue to advocate for families with elderly relatives in regards to facility placement and in negotiating the Medicaid system. Our Medicaid application success rate is unparalleled in the industry. We encourage families to reach out before crisis strikes and to have a long-term care in place.

Stay Safe and Well!

Having been in Health Care Administration & Consulting for over thirty (30) years, I have faced many crises, but none as daunting as COVID-19. The most vulnerable individuals are the elderly and those with physical disabilities due to a variety of illnesses. COVID-19 is relentless and has already resulted in multiple deaths in New Jersey.

Hospitals are inundated with patients and are short of beds. Several hospitals have inquired whether usage of dormitory space at local universities is a possibility. There is a shortage of ventilators, masks and other critical equipment and supplies. When doctors and nurses contract COVID-19, the emergency will be exacerbated to heights never seen in America.

Nursing homes have set up “quarantine status”, i.e. no visitors other than employees and medical personnel. All deliveries must be left at the front desk to be distributed by employees, whether it be supplies or packages for residents. These “shutdowns’ are absolutely essential to the safety of the residents. While families may suffer with the inability to visit loved ones, safety must be the top priority.

In the past, nursing homes have enforced quarantines for flu epidemics, MRSA infections are other pandemic diseases. This is not unprecedented. The recent deaths and viral epidemic at a Seattle-based nursing home is evidence of the clear and present danger to the residents.

The real issue is the “reality check”. We can do everything possible to contain the disease, but it will definitively strike one or more nursing homes. As a result, there may be multiple deaths and suffering because of the serious medical conditions of many of the residents. Why? Because, inevitably some employee of a facility will come in contact with a COVID-19 carrier and bring the virus into the facility unknowingly. Employees have families, will come in contact with members of the community, will go to Supermarkets, etc. None of us can function in total isolation. Exposure to the virus “cannot be prevented”.

Media morons will wrongly blame the facilities for not taking enough precautionary measures to protect the residents. Families of residents will lay blame erroneously on the facilities where COVID-19 strikes. In cases of residents who die from the virus, there may be lawsuits. And in truth, the nursing home may be totally blameless. This is an unfortunate byproduct of the society in which we live. When something terrible occurs, we feel a desperate need to place blame.

There is hope on the horizon. In America, Israel, and other countries, scientists are desperately working on effective treatments, possible cures, even a vaccine. Within a few months, there is reason to believe that we will have the ability to effectively deal with this global crisis.

In the interim, limit human interaction, and a little prayer may be helpful.

Wishing all CARENET clients and people all around the globe well wishes to remain calm and safe until this crisis passes.