Question : can i hire a nurse to take care of mom in medicaid nursing home?
My Mom is in a NY medicaid nursing home. She has late stage Alzheimer’s. She is basically a vegetable, cannot move on her own, does not communicate. She has pressure sores. They are being treated, but I feel not good enough. Can I hire and pay for a nurse/aide (my own funds) to go to the nursing home everyday and make sure she is positioned every 2 hours and treat the three pressure sores she has?
home staging in ny

Best answer:

Answer by JL
You can hire anyone you want to help your mother, only limited by your funds and the person’s scope of practice. An aide could cost you $ 8-15/hour and a nurse $ 30-50/hour. The nurse could do the wound care; an aide could not.

You may find it more feasible to establish a relationship with the nursing home employees. Stop in at all hours of the day and evening; call at night. Make sure that each nurse taking care of her is monitoring the dressings when your mother is changed and repositioned. It is standard practice to monitor the dressings every shift and to turn her every two hours. Don’t accept “We know to turn her” as the response.

Also keep in mind that skin is an organ and like the rest of her organs, it is not in great shape. Pressure sores are not necessarily caused by lack of care but rather the generalized deterioration of the body from disease and old age. If you approach the staff in an accusatory and blaming manner, they will become defensive and not communicate with you out of fear of being reported.