The Overlooked Old Man

I had a man come to see me at work because his uncle was just moved from the VA hospital to a nursing home and the nephew needed a power of attorney for the uncle. Nephew wanted to get the man on the state medicaid program to pay for uncle's care. The nephew is the closest relative to the old man, and I can tell the nephew means well but does not intend to have much of a relationship with his uncle after the move to the nursing home is complete. The nephew wants to do his duty as a nephew, get the uncle moved into the nursing home, be reimbursed for his expenses, and send his uncle an annual Christmas card---and that's about it.

So I set out to do what I was hired to do. I went and visited the elderly uncle in the nursing home to see if he was competent to execute a power of attorney. Now, it is never fun to go to a nursing home. They smell, and they are sad. Old people go there to be housed until they die. That is the truth. But I go anyway, briefcase in hand, to meet the uncle of my client. I wander the hall until I find his room. I find him in his bed, feet sticking out from under his blanket. I introduce myself to him and we start talking. What a sweet man he is! He is a vet, and served in combat in WWII. His wife of over 50 years died a few years ago. She had severe diabetes so they never had any children. He is alone; no family near but for this one nephew who is my client.

We chat for a while. I asked him all about his life, his family, his late wife, his service in the military. As we talk, he occasionally has a tear stream down his cheek. I think I was the first person to talk to him in a long, long time. I asked him my competency evaluation questions, and after I knew he was competent to do his estate planning, so I took notes on his wishes. I drafted his documents and went back the next day to have him sign his documents.

Here's the sad part. He owns a run-down little mobile home and has basically no money. He lives only on his social security income which is not much. He is physically pretty well so I do not think he will pass the medical screening to qualify for the state medicaid program, which is the only way he could afford the $5,200 a month to stay in the nursing home. He actually thinks the nursing home is pretty nice. He has activitieis to keep him busy, his food is made for him, and they even have a barber shop right there so he can keep his hair trimmed. Unfortunatley, he does not have the money himself to pay for him to stay there. His family is not going to pitch in and pay for him to stay there. So what will happen to this sweet, old man? He cannot stay in the nursing home. He's not ready to die, not terminally ill, and is physically quite well. Medicare, Medicaid, nor hospice will pay for his stay in the nursing home. But there's no one to take care of him, and he should not live alone. What will happen to him when the nursing home kicks him out when he cannot pay the bill to stay there? And honestly, who will care?

So, I have taken it upon myself to help him. I cannot sleep at night thinking of this sweet, old man who no one cares about. I've contacted the VA up in Prescott and am working with the social worker there to apply for him to receive VA benefits. If he can get approved, he will get a little money each month that can hopefully pay for a caregiver to come to his house, help him, do some cleaning, errands, etc. I am getting him connected with local government offices to help him with meals-on-wheels, activities for elderly adults, etc. I am getting in touch with his church to see if I can get him a schedule of visitors to look in on him on a regular basis. (If he went to my church, he'd be taken care of for sure!) And you know what, I'm going to put it on my calendar to call him once a month to check on him.

Now I was only hired by the nephew to do a power of attorney and submit the man's application with the state medicaid program. That is all I "have" to do. But how can I just let this man, who has no one else, just be lost in the system without anyone looking out for him? As the old saying goes, what would Jesus do?????