My brother found her on her bedroom floor after a concerned friend could not get a hold of her. She is home with hospice and now will get rehab. But only 3-5 visits at home. How can we get her admitted to inpatient rehab? Being on hospice she lost all her Drs.
So, she has hospice services, which is palliative (comfort) care, not curative care. I think that by definition, extensive rehab would be considered curative. Hospice will offer PT services if they maintain the patient's comfort level, like to prevent contractures.
Did your mom go to the hospital after her fall? That would have been the time to admit her to rehab. Is she so badly off that hospice was recommended instead of rehab? Was it felt that rehab would be too strenuous for her?
If you think she needs rehab, not Hospice, you can certainly rescind Hospice.
As Barb mentioned, Hospice care can be rescinded. But you said that she lost all her DRs? Every Hospice I am familiar with (I used to be a Hospice RN earlier in my career) has a physician on staff. So technically she has a doctor directing her care. My understanding is the same as Barb's; on Medicare Hospice will not reimburse for PT services that are not comfort care related. But the family could self-pay for PT visits if after the 3-5 visits she needs more.
Are you wanting her to receive rehab to help her to walk more safely? That may be something to discuss with the Hospice staff. If safety is a concern perhaps more visits would be justified. The goal of Hospice is to make the most of the life remaining; if she is at risk of falling, that does not bode well for her quality of life.
Write with more info if you need more suggestions. Why is she in Hospice? What sort of rehab do you think she needs?
Best of luck to you
Margaret
Sandra, I do have a couple of further questions.
Did anyone suggest what caused your mother's serious fall two months ago? This is to do with whether there could have been an underlying condition that caused the fall, rather than the fall that caused the awful injury.
How does your mother feel about everything? Is she working hard to get better, and keen to go to inpatient rehab? If she is, it helps a lot because you and your brother can be guided by her wishes and support her decisions.
But if it's more you and your brother who are eager to encourage her as much as possible, then why not see how she gets on with the at-home PT for the time being and take it from there?