how can i help my sister?

[julianjuan]

my sister is 59.  she is disabled from an auto accident, receives ssi and has medicare.   over the last five years, she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder by three shrinks.  she has never been admitted for observation.  when she's seen a doctor re: bipolar disorder it has been at my insistence, in an office environment.  she has rejected the diagnosis and gone off meds as soon as she was unsupervised or able to wean herself from the drugs.  she spent as little as five days on one anti-psychotic and as long as six months on lithium.

last year she suffered an aortic dissection.  almost died.  she has gained approx 60 lbs in one year.(she is 5'2'')  she is cycling manic again.  i'm afraid that she'll be dead soon.  my great hope is that i can have her admitted (i'm sure forcibly) for observation and that she will be medicated for long enough for her to understand what has been happening to her and accept her diagnosis.

i need to know...everything.  does medicare cover psychiatric admissions?  if i have her forcibly admitted for observation, how long will that last?  what happens when she's released?

thanks.

  

[ILADVOCATE]

Check and see if she has Medicare Part B which includes hospital coverage. She can be hospitalized if she is "dangerous to herself or others" which is the criteria in all states (some have further criteria). She will be hospitalized as long as it takes to stabilize her. That's the psychiatrists's decision but hospital stays are shorter than the past due to insurance coverage limits. An average hospital stay is 2 weeks but it can be longer if the person really needs help. Speak to the psychiatrists who are working with her there and make sure she is assigned a social worker and ask about plans for when she is discharged from the hospital such as outpatient treatment, day programs and if she is need of housing, supported or supportive housing for people with psychiatric disabilities.

[Athena_M]

If she is a danger to herself or others you can call the police and they will take her to the hospital, or call her doctor and he can send the paramedics to take her.

They will do a 72 hour old on her and either keep her until she takes her medicine or they will let her go if she is not in danger.  

One time they kept me for almost 4 weeks until they found the right medicine and I was stable.  

[julianjuan]

thanks for the reply.

she does carry medicare part b.  in past conversations with the bipolar alliance in the city where my sister lives, i had been told that she could be held for observation for as little as 48 hours.  it's a relief to hear that two weeks is a possibility.

there are a lot of other factors at play here, as i'm sure there are in every similar situation; her medical condition, she lives alone 1200 miles away from me, the environment she would return to after she was stabilized.  a lot of groundwork to be done before i call the wagon.

it's terrifying.

[julianjuan]

thanks to you as well.  

[Athena_M]

You are welcome.  Please keep me udated on this forum of how she is and how things go.  

When in the hospital there will be an appointed person who will make arrangements for her safety when she arrives home.  Sometimes they won't release a person if they are living alone.  She might get released into someone elses care.  They will make sure there is someone that can help her if she does return to her original home.  Maybe they will try to put her in a half way house or she can be released into your care or one of her friends or neighbor.  It would have to someone who can help her go to doctor's appointments and therapy appointments.