Can DHS force someone that is not being abused into a nursing home against her and her family's will?

[qtarsusy]

Home Health Care made the decision that she was in a bad situation. The family feels otherwise. She has been well taken care of. Do they need to consult a lawyer in this situation?

[April2]

You might get more answers if you post this question in the Caregiver forum or maybe even the Medhelp Social forum. A lot of people may not see it here. This is the Teen Depression forum. I hope you get some answers soon! Best wishes.

[swampcritter]

(Assuming this is a US based question)

Of course they need to consult a lawyer. Find an elder care attorney in the area, as this is a state law issue.

[caregiver222]

The answer is "yes", however that decision can and should be contested. The procedure to contest such decisions varies from state to state.

A timely protest is mandated., and an elder care attorney is recommended.

One issue is who holds the "health care proxy".

If they deem the patient incompetent a so-called "guardianship" proceeding is initiated, and at the hearing interested parties can present reasons to the judge as to what would be most appropriate. In theory, family members are selected over court-appointed guardians, however this is a political plumb.

In fairness, state agencies are often short investigators, and you can take a one minute slice out of anyone''s life and come to a conclusion that is inappropriate.

I am not sure who "Home Health Care" is.

[jo929]

If you are her Family and she signs her power of attorney over to you and she is getting good care, i do not see aany way that they could do this get an attorney    luck  jo

[jo929]

I live in Okla, and Home Health care are companies that have aides and nurses, that can be paid by soc sec or medicaid if some one needs care at home the aides bathe the patients or clean the house what ever needs to be done there are good ones and bad ones, you never know the background of the person or the people that come in. they come in for 2 hr or 3 or 4, but i think 4 hr daily is the maxium, if the person has a nurse come in the Dr orders it, and either the aide or nurse can turn the situation over to an agency they are supposed to benifit from this, but in my opiniom the do not, this was tried on my mom because she was getting confused, and she yelled a lot, the agency came out and i was there and they did not knoe who i was and one said she will stop that yelling when we take over, she will go to a nursing home we will take care of her business affairs ect meaning money, and they would have sold her home for thei gain, but i spoke up and said i live here and i hold her proxy and i will take care of the problems so get your a..out of here and i mean now they tried to apligize but they left it was a young person and she was throwing her weight around there are some good some bad but watch out if money is involved   jo

[dianecarbo]

jo,
If a home care agency feels as if a person is being abused or neglected they will report them to DHS. DHS will do an investigation and deem if the situation is bad or not. If you have power of attorney over health care, you will be able to have a say in her placement. If you are able to care for your mom and keep her safe then there will not be a problem.

I am so sorry to hear that you had this bad experience. It sounds as if you got a new home health care nurse that was not used to working in the home or in the community.

Home care nurses are expected and obligated to report any thing that they perceive as neglect or abuse. Any thing can be misconstrued in a few moments.

You may be able to handle this on your own, but it would be wise to have other family members, your mom's physician and others vouch for the proper care you are providing.    
hang in there. This is never easy.

Diane    

[vision271]

Who do you mean by home health care?