My Mother sTarted having problems living alone at home in 2001. She told me that she never wanted to go to a Nursing Home and I promised that I would do everything possible to prevent that by exploring other options. WE chose Home care over Nursing Home. At first she only needed 5 hours of care a day, so being a Patient Care Assistant, I provided that for her. When I was not available, I hired someone from the agency and covered the costs myself. AS time went on, her physical condition got worse as did her risk of falling, but we continued home care and I continued private pay until my accountant alerted me to the critical shape of my finances. I could not pay for home care any longer. Again, to avoid a Nursing Home stay, MOm and I decided to get a reverse Mortgage. She was not happy about this option as she worried that she would have no legacy to bequeath to me as her heir. I convinced her that her happiness and the memory of her contentment living out her life in her home was the best legacy she could leave to those who care about her. The care was expensive as were the bills incurred on a monthly basis as I spent every day with Mom and hiring a Home Aide at night whenever I could find work, so the reverse mortgage money was exhausted after 3 years. In April 2009, Mom became ill with pneumonia, was hospitalized, but at the age of 97, she miraculously recovered. In August, on advice of physician, I placed her in a Nursing Home for restorative care as I planned to take her home. Ahe was already occupying a bed at the facility, when I was presented with a 12 page Admission Form. I was not given the courtesy of sitting in the Admission Office for an interview so I could review the form. Admission staff gave me the form in the Lobby and asked me to sign the form because my Mother was not capable of signing. I was accustomed to signing for MOm as her Power Of Attorney and when I asked the staff member about the titles Patient Representative and Responsible Party on the Forms she told me that it measnt the same thing and I was just signing as the patient's legal representative and it had nothing to do with billing. I signed 4 forms, all as POA. I was making plans to take my Mother Home after I was informed that her condition had so deteriorated that there was no hope for her recovery. I had decided to take her home and to engage Hospice Services which would be paid for by Medicare. At the same time I applied for Medicaid, but I was unable to locate some important documents; Birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc. and she died 10 days after I initiated a Medicaid request. Three weeks after her death I started to receive a bill for $9,800, in October 2009. In December 2009, the Nursing Home's Attorneys filed fora judgment against my Mother's Estate and myself individually. They claim that I knowingly signed as Responsible Party and agreed to Pay for any bills owed from my own finances. Right now I am in danger of having a lien placed against my home as I have no cash assets. It will cost at least $5,000 if I want to go to litigation unless I choose to be a "pro se Litigant". This Nursing Home is part of a group of facilities owned by the same people and their methods are despicable. I was lied to by the Admission staff about the form I signed and the copy of the agreement they gave to me on the day I signed was missing the pages explaining that I was agreeing to be responsible for the bills and pages about agreeing to waive my rights to trial by jury if a dispute should be filed were also omitted from my copy of the form. This method of tricking people into accepting the role of guarantor is unethical and underhanded. I have found out that many people have been mislead and duped into signing this very same form. People who place their loved ones into the care of Nursing Facilities whether it be for longterm or short term restorative care are often diswrought, unfamiliar with the system, emotionally upset and certainly not prepared to read through 12 page Admission Form full of complicated terms and legal contract jargon that requires an Attorney's interpretation. This Nursing Home is taking unfair advantage of people at a time when they are most vulnerable and these people, like myself have very little money, living from paycheck to paycheck. They end up with liens on what little assets they own, and/or having their paychecks garnished possibly for the rest of their working lives. If there is nothing that can be done to assist me with my predicament, then I would like to see some action taken to prevent other people from being deceived and vctimized by unscrupulous Nursing Home owners. There is a moral imperative here, but in the future I would like to see these "methods" and the tools used to dupe people like this Admissions form, become illegal. Maybe if the Media via TV News could put a spotlight on Health Care Facilities using these unethical practices it could serve as a Public service and prevent innocent people's lives from being ruined. Thank you for reading my story. Alex WEgner---New Jersey
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