It sucks but dementia tends to equate to living in a nursing home. Not always of course, but often because the level of care is high and the prognosis for many forms of dementia is the grimness of progressive severity. Hence, the present tends to be as good as it is going to be. And absent other morbidity the future is likely to be long.
It’s a hard decision that sucks.
Even a person who is committed to avoiding nursing home placement is best served by looking into power of attorney and getting on waiting lists right now. The likely alternative is discovering how long waiting lists for better dementia facilities are and what is required legally to act on another adult’s behalf later. The typical later being in the midst of legal/social/medical crisis.
For most people there are only better and worse. There’s no good even in the best likely case. Again, it sucks.
Finally, without power of attorney or permission of the patient healthcare providers can’t discuss medical records with anyone, even next of kin.
Good luck
(Edit: none of these change whether your friend is in Michigan or Florida. The difference between locations is providing direct physical assistance and proximity. These are not nothing. They don’t make a difference in terms of legal hurdles or public, and private resources.)
It sucks but dementia tends to equate to living in a nursing home. Not always of course, but often because the level of care is high and the prognosis for many forms of dementia is the grimness of progressive severity. Hence, the present tends to be as good as it is going to be. And absent other morbidity the future is likely to be long.
It’s a hard decision that sucks.
Even a person who is committed to avoiding nursing home placement is best served by looking into power of attorney and getting on waiting lists right now. The likely alternative is discovering how long waiting lists for better dementia facilities are and what is required legally to act on another adult’s behalf later. The typical later being in the midst of legal/social/medical crisis.
For most people there are only better and worse. There’s no good even in the best likely case. Again, it sucks.
Finally, without power of attorney or permission of the patient healthcare providers can’t discuss medical records with anyone, even next of kin.
Good luck
(Edit: none of these change whether your friend is in Michigan or Florida. The difference between locations is providing direct physical assistance and proximity. These are not nothing. They don’t make a difference in terms of legal hurdles or public, and private resources.)