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We have a relative who is currently in a skilled nursing facility recovering from foot and leg wounds. Over the past two months of dealing with the wreckage of his financial life and seeing first-hand the squalid living conditions he created, we now realize the situation that put him in dire straights is the result of chronic mental illness. There is nothing anyone can do to truly help him until he gets some form of psychiatric treatment, and we are seeing a distinct possibility that he will be discharged in a few weeks and repeat the nightmare all over again.
We brought this to the attention of the hospital staff two months ago and were told that they only deal with acute medical conditions. Unless he was suicidal or threatened a hospital employee, they would not intervene. When he was moved to the SNF for rehab we requested intervention from their staff counselor. Again, they are refusing to consider any form of mental health treatment because "it is not indicated" and it is not in the "prescribed treatment plan".
Have any of you dealt with a similar situation? How did you get the needed help and intervention?
The medical staff was able to get my mom (with a lot of help from my dad) to voluntarily commit herself because they knew she was mentally ill and it's easier to do it that way.
His doctor writes the orders for the staff at the nursing facility. You need to contact him and tell him the story. He can write a referral for psychiatric care and tell you how to get a social worker involved.
We have a relative who is currently in a skilled nursing facility recovering from foot and leg wounds. Over the past two months of dealing with the wreckage of his financial life and seeing first-hand the squalid living conditions he created, we now realize the situation that put him in dire straights is the result of chronic mental illness. There is nothing anyone can do to truly help him until he gets some form of psychiatric treatment, and we are seeing a distinct possibility that he will be discharged in a few weeks and repeat the nightmare all over again.
We brought this to the attention of the hospital staff two months ago and were told that they only deal with acute medical conditions. Unless he was suicidal or threatened a hospital employee, they would not intervene. When he was moved to the SNF for rehab we requested intervention from their staff counselor. Again, they are refusing to consider any form of mental health treatment because "it is not indicated" and it is not in the "prescribed treatment plan".
Have any of you dealt with a similar situation? How did you get the needed help and intervention?
You can call your county mental health and see if they will intervene. Usually unless they are a danger to themselves or others, nothing can be done, but MHMR, which is what we use in Texas, told me that I could petition the court for a mentally ill individual who does not meet the legal standard of danger to self or others, but is clearly unable to function.
I have no idea if the lady who told me that is right, but if he were my family, I'd have tried. If it's the same in your state, you go and swear an affidavit as to your reasons, and a judge decides if your relative should have a 72 hour hold, he will grant a warrant.
Then, you have to tell the sheriff's office where he is at the time they go to serve the mental health warrant. I guess you'll want to take pictures of the house, but I don't know how far just squalid is going to take you.
In the case that MHMR felt I would be successful, the individual is suffering from schizophrenia, is outside, and cannot get any help because he doesn't know he's ill. He can't maintain shelter or a regular source of food or anything.
You can call your county mental health and see if they will intervene. Usually unless they are a danger to themselves or others, nothing can be done, but MHMR, which is what we use in Texas, told me that I could petition the court for a mentally ill individual who does not meet the legal standard of danger to self or others, but is clearly unable to function.
I have no idea if the lady who told me that is right, but if he were my family, I'd have tried. If it's the same in your state, you go and swear an affidavit as to your reasons, and a judge decides if your relative should have a 72 hour hold, he will grant a warrant.
Then, you have to tell the sheriff's office where he is at the time they go to serve the mental health warrant. I guess you'll want to take pictures of the house, but I don't know how far just squalid is going to take you.
In the case that MHMR felt I would be successful, the individual is suffering from schizophrenia, is outside, and cannot get any help because he doesn't know he's ill. He can't maintain shelter or a regular source of food or anything.
Thanks for that information. He is currently in a SNF in Texas and is a resident there, but I am a resident of Arizona -- not sure I have any legal standing. As far as his living conditions, he is homeless, and the rental house where he used to live was completely wrecked. He committed waste on a scale I've never seen before, every plumbing fixture was broken by his tampering and trash was piled to the ceiling. All the time he was telling us his situation was OK, he was actually living on Amazon deliveries for food as his feet rotted away. He owned a truck that was not running because he had tampered with it and disassembled the dash board trying to repair some electrical problem. It had four flat tires when we found it, but he'd purchased hundreds of dollars of repair parts (from Amazon) and they were still in boxes because he couldn't walk anymore.
When we talk to him he is delusional and proudly proclaims his "fierce independence" as though none of this actually happened to him. My wife and I have spent a lot of time and money traveling back and forth trying to sort this out. His only hope is some form of managed care, but his poverty, size, (350 #) and serious foot wounds mean an immediate "no" from all the ALFs we've approached.
Thanks for that information. He is currently in a SNF in Texas and is a resident there, but I am a resident of Arizona -- not sure I have any legal standing. As far as his living conditions, he is homeless, and the rental house where he used to live was completely wrecked. He committed waste on a scale I've never seen before, every plumbing fixture was broken by his tampering and trash was piled to the ceiling. All the time he was telling us his situation was OK, he was actually living on Amazon deliveries for food as his feet rotted away. He owned a truck that was not running because he had tampered with it and disassembled the dash board trying to repair some electrical problem. It had four flat tires when we found it, but he'd purchased hundreds of dollars of repair parts (from Amazon) and they were still in boxes because he couldn't walk anymore.
When we talk to him he is delusional and proudly proclaims his "fierce independence" as though none of this actually happened to him. My wife and I have spent a lot of time and money traveling back and forth trying to sort this out. His only hope is some form of managed care, but his poverty, size, (350 #) and serious foot wounds mean an immediate "no" from all the ALFs we've approached.
That is horrible. Yes, you do have standing. You need not be a resident of Texas. Next time you come here, you could go the court and get a warrant. You will need to know where he is going to be. They won't hunt for him, nor will police have the warrant UNLESS some sort of drama unfolds that gives regular police cause to detain on the spot. Being made aware of the mental health warrant would add to a lower-level drama and assist the regular police if need be.
You can call MHMR in the meantime and get more information, but I would also contact whatever court they say to go to, in case they have a bit of the legalities wrong.
The situation you describe they should consider danger to self. Delusional, unable to care for self to the point of this terrible problem with feet. Also you can call APS, hopefully he would accept some services/help from them.
You want to make your case as strong as possible. Document everything you can. Get witness statements if you can. Pictures, video, etc.
Thanks for that information. He is currently in a SNF in Texas and is a resident there, but I am a resident of Arizona -- not sure I have any legal standing. As far as his living conditions, he is homeless, and the rental house where he used to live was completely wrecked. He committed waste on a scale I've never seen before, every plumbing fixture was broken by his tampering and trash was piled to the ceiling. All the time he was telling us his situation was OK, he was actually living on Amazon deliveries for food as his feet rotted away. He owned a truck that was not running because he had tampered with it and disassembled the dash board trying to repair some electrical problem. It had four flat tires when we found it, but he'd purchased hundreds of dollars of repair parts (from Amazon) and they were still in boxes because he couldn't walk anymore.
When we talk to him he is delusional and proudly proclaims his "fierce independence" as though none of this actually happened to him. My wife and I have spent a lot of time and money traveling back and forth trying to sort this out. His only hope is some form of managed care, but his poverty, size, (350 #) and serious foot wounds mean an immediate "no" from all the ALFs we've approached.
While he is in the SNF, can you call APS to go evaluate him? If they see the delusions, they might act on their own, or at least could help your case. Gosh, this is the time to strike, while he's in that SNF. Give APS every detail, but orderly if that makes sense. They don't seem to appreciate my rambling stories, lol. They want facts.
While he is in the SNF, can you call APS to go evaluate him? If they see the delusions, they might act on their own, or at least could help your case. Gosh, this is the time to strike, while he's in that SNF. Give APS every detail, but orderly if that makes sense. They don't seem to appreciate my rambling stories, lol. They want facts.
APS was called by the fire department when the EMTs saw the squalor and rescued him to the hospital in February. So APS knew about his living conditions from the get-go yet did nothing but hand him a business card. We found evidence that his landlord had convinced him to pay the property tax bills on his rental house since 2008. The local police department told us they would not treat this obvious flim flam as a crime, but we could pursue it in civil court.
I'm a bit jaded about the whole "system" in Texas. Lots of people, lots of paper, lots of motion, huge amounts of money spent, and yet nothing seems to get done in any timely fashion. Anyway thanks for that referral to Texas MHMR, I'll call them Monday morning.
I would call their helpline and explain the situation and ask what they recommend. Helplines are often staffed by family members of those with serious mental illnesses who volunteer to provide information and support.
While I worry that Texas is known not to support its needy with sufficient support services, I would also contact their local department of aging and ask for a social worker visit to evaluate the situations and what resources your relative may qualify for. Call every department you can find.
I agree that it would be ideal to ask to speak with the SNF doctor to ask for a psychiatric evaluation while he is in their. It can be incredibly difficult to reach a doctor in these places, as often they are only only on site once a week and are very overworked. But it is worth a try. You can explain that you are trying to assist with discharge, as the mental illness is clearly putting him in danger, because many places are not allowed to discharge patients if they have no safe home to go to and are a danger to themselves. That is a very grey area though, and some places are heartless and will put you on the street in a hospital gown and a bus ticket.
I would call their helpline and explain the situation and ask what they recommend. Helplines are often staffed by family members of those with serious mental illnesses who volunteer to provide information and support.
While I worry that Texas is known not to support its needy with sufficient support services, I would also contact their local department of aging and ask for a social worker visit to evaluate the situations and what resources your relative may qualify for. Call every department you can find.
I agree that it would be ideal to ask to speak with the SNF doctor to ask for a psychiatric evaluation while he is in their. It can be incredibly difficult to reach a doctor in these places, as often they are only only on site once a week and are very overworked. But it is worth a try. You can explain that you are trying to assist with discharge, as the mental illness is clearly putting him in danger, because many places are not allowed to discharge patients if they have no safe home to go to and are a danger to themselves. That is a very grey area though, and some places are heartless and will put you on the street in a hospital gown and a bus ticket.
Thanks for the NAMI referral -- will give that a shot as well. His doctor at the SNF does her rounds once a week and signs off on the care plan for the RN. Everything else is handled by the RN and CNAs. Like most SNFs, this place is understaffed but I really can't fault them for the job they have done so far in dealing with what must be a difficult patient when compared to the typical frail grandmother type.
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