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When is it time to consider placement for a loved one
What is the difference between adult and nursing care homes
A. There is not an easy or definitive answer to that question. The decision should be
based on your loved one’s desires in addition to factors such as physical health, ability
to meet his/her own care needs, cognitive status, ability to take medications as directed,
safety of the home environment and neighborhood, availability of a social support
system and ability to handle finances.
A. Find out as much as you can about the adult care home.
Check out the home’s compliance status and complaint history.
Talk with residents and families of residents who live at the home to find out if they are
satisfied with the care and services offered. Interview doctors, social workers, the
ombudsman and anyone else you can think of who might be familiar with the home.
Visit the home at least twice. Be sure that one of those visits is unannounced.
Pay attention to the way the residents are dressed, their cleanliness, the interaction
between residents and staff, visibility of staff, types of meals served, cleanliness of the
building, unpleasant odors, noise levels, lighting and building security.
A. Charges can vary considerably from home to home. Medicaid recipients can expect to
pay about $1,200 a month. Private pay residents pay monthly fees varying from $1,500-
$4,000+, based on individual service needs and room accommodations.
Q.What services are covered by my monthly cost of care payment?
A. For one monthly cost of care fee, Medicaid recipients may use all services provided by
the home. Those services usually include personal care, health care, food service,
medication administration, activities, transportation, housekeeping and laundry.
Private-pay residents are usually expected to pay separate fees for each service used;
therefore, the more care a private-pay resident needs, the higher his/her monthly
cost of care payment.
A. Adult care homes offer only ONE level of care - assisted living. Some adult care homes
advertise different levels of care but are actually referring to a tiered payment system
based on number of services used by the resident.
A. A nursing home is a health care facility that provides nursing or convalescent care to
persons who are not sick enough to be in the hospital, but who need services provided
by licensed nursing staff. An adult care home provides personal care assistance to
individuals who do not need nursing care but cannot live at home independently and
have their care needs met.
A. There is a financial program available called State/County Special Assistance. An adult
is eligible for this program if he/she meets all of the following criteria:
age 65 and older
between the ages of 18–64 and disabled based on Social Security’s definition of disabled
a US citizen or legal alien
a North Carolina resident
a current resident, or in the process of becoming a resident, of an adult care home that is licensed by the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation, and is authorized to receive State/County Special Assistance payments
meets the allowable income and resource limits
If an adult receives State/County Special Assistance, he/she is automatically eligible for
Medicaid, a health insurance program that helps pay for medical expenses, treatment
and personal care services. An application for State/County Special Assistance may be
made at the local county Department of Social Services (Wake County
Human Services)
Q. If my loved one is paying privately at an adult care home and exhausts his/her
resources, can he/she switch over to State/County Special Assistance and
continue living in the home?
A. Not necessarily. Adult care homes are not mandated to accept State/County Special
Assistance payments; therefore, a resident may be asked to leave a facility if personal
resources are exhausted and he/she can no longer pay a private-care rate.
Check with facilities individually to find out what their policies are. You might want to
also ask for written confirmation that your loved one can continue living in a facility if
he/she becomes a State/County Special Assistance recipient.
A. The first thing to do is to discuss the concern with facility staff. Work your way up the
chain of command if you have to, but make sure that your concern is heard. Then, give
facility staff an opportunity to address the problem. If you are not satisfied with the
results, don’t give up. Take your concern to one or more of the following people/groups:
1. The adult homes specialist with the local county Department of Social Services
(Wake County Human Services) responsible for monitoring the facility.
2. A consultant with the Adult Care Licensure Section at the Division of Health Service
Regulations.
3. The regional ombudsman with your local Area Agency on Aging.
A. No. General Statute 131D-21, the Residents Bill of Rights, ensures each resident
freedom to make complaints and suggestions without fear of coercion or retaliation.
Resident discharge or transfer may only be initiated by a facility when specific
conditions exist. These conditions include the following:
1. inability of the facility to meet the resident’s needs
2. improvement in the resident’s condition so that he/she no longer needs the services
of an adult care home
3. a change in the resident’s condition so that he/she poses a danger to himself/herself
or poses a direct threat to others
4. the safety and health of individuals in the facility would otherwise be endangered
5. failure to pay cost of care for services and accommodations according to the resident
contract.
6. the discharge is mandated under G.S. 131D-2 (a1).