A few years ago, my great-grandfather’s health was deteriorating rapidly. He had been admitted to the hospital, given a two-month prognosis, and had been settled into his living room by hospice all within a week. The day after I arrived home from college to spend time with my grandpa, my uncle started a conversation with my mother, grandmother, and I about the game plan for my great-grandfather’s long-term care.
He laid out the basic logistics of what was currently going on with his care. He was being cared for by my family during the day with intermittent visits from nurses affiliated with our local hospital’s hospice. During the night, after the night nurse visited, my great-grandmother would try to sleep while my uncle stayed awake in case Grandpa needed anything. This would only work for the next couple of days, as my uncle had to go back home. We basically had three options: we could hire a night nurse to take care of grandpa, my mother and grandmother could take turns staying the night, or a combination of the two. Neither option was ideal, as a night nurse would cost my great-grandparents a considerable amount of money and my mother and grandmother had other engagements to balance. After about 15 minutes of discussing these logistics, we decided to revisit the conversation later to come to a conclusion. Unfortunately, a final decision was never come to because my great-grandfather died that night; surrounded by his child, grandchildren, and wife.
As a consumer, taking on logistics and costs is a difficult thing to do. Costs are high and emotions are strong. The stress of losing a loved one is high, and adding the subject of money onto that stress can be difficult for pretty much anyone. As consumers, it is important to know your options and rights, in order to navigate the decisions the way that serves you and your family best. My uncle did the research on what our options were, and he relayed them to the family. If you are a consumer that is considering starting a conversation about this, I would advise doing your research first. Being clear on all of the relevant information can make this difficult conversations less difficult.
A good place to start would be this website, that outlines the rights of the dead and dying.