GETTING OLD HERE...GOOD STUFF

[Caonabo]

There is a growing industry of elderly carr facilities with waiting lists for most of them. Thirty years ago, my step sister said that this was the business to get into...and she was so right...Yes, there are facilities. Jarabacoa and Santiago have them. And I have heard that there is one in Santo Domingo...I am sure that there are more.



HB

Does anybody have more specific information in regards to these facilities located within the RD? Specifics include:
A. Length of waiting time.
B. Average monthly and annual costs.
C. Costs covered by Dominican based insurance companies.
D. Quality of care.
E. Communication with immediate family of patient.

 

[keepcoming]

Even though the thread has wandered a bit off the DR this is an excellent thread. So many of us are going through this, gone through this or will go through this. My dad has COPD and CHF and went downhill pretty quick. Sad to see, he is 85. Unfortunately bringing him to the DR at this point is not possible. He has good days and bad days, more bad than good. My parents have been married 60 years. I know this is rough on my mom. I watched my MIL's father suffer from Alzheimer disease here in the DR. Many did not know how to deal with the situation or understand it.

 

[cobraboy]

Does anybody have more specific information in regards to these facilities located within the RD? Specifics include:
A. Length of waiting time.
B. Average monthly and annual costs.
C. Costs covered by Dominican based insurance companies.
D. Quality of care.
E. Communication with immediate family of patient.

The facility in Jarabacoa is primarily a charity and there is a long waiting list.

We did get the impression that a consistent monthly donation may get you a higher point on the list.

Figure RD$30,000 for a monthly facility fee, but that is with a roommate and typical, inexpensive Dominican food.

The level of care is marginally custodial and not for rehab or serious illnesses.

You really cannot compare it to any such facility in the states, e.g., step-down facilities (in on your feet, out in a box), nursing homes or ACLF's.

 

[chico bill]

The facility in Jarabacoa is primarily a charity and there is a long waiting list.

We did get the impression that a consistent monthly donation may get you a higher point on the list.

Figure RD$30,000 for a monthly facility fee, but that is with a roommate and typical, inexpensive Dominican food.

The level of care is marginally custodial and not for rehab or serious illnesses.

You really cannot compare it to any such facility in the states, e.g., step-down facilities (in on your feet, out in a box), nursing homes or ACLF's.

I'm guessing this DR facility doesn't dispense meds or have a nurse on staff?
How would they handle a medical emergency?

 

[Caonabo]

The facility in Jarabacoa is primarily a charity and there is a long waiting list.

We did get the impression that a consistent monthly donation may get you a higher point on the list.

Figure RD$30,000 for a monthly facility fee, but that is with a roommate and typical, inexpensive Dominican food.

The level of care is marginally custodial and not for rehab or serious illnesses.

You really cannot compare it to any such facility in the states, e.g., step-down facilities (in on your feet, out in a box), nursing homes or ACLF's.

Thank you for the detailed response.

 

[drstock]

I was talking to a Russian guy here one day about a friend of mine in England who was having to pay a fortune for carers for his parents at their home over there. "Why doesn't he bring them over here, it would be much cheaper?" said the Russian. I explained that they wouldn't agree to leave the house. He suggested that the cheapest solution would be to bring the house over here, brick by brick, move his parents in and they would never know the difference. The cost of bringing over and rebuilding the house would soon be covered by the savings on care fees in England! :laugh:

 

[Tamborista]

Not the same dentist - Bird
Just my Sosua clean girl....

They find me Bird....

I run but can't hide.....

AND !! I had my fly done up....how bout that !!???

Stay away from my future wife please!

 

[windeguy]

While one might think such facilities are a bargain in the DR, CB posts what reality is in a DR style "nursing home". It probably won't be remotely similar to a first world care center, but everything in life is a trade off.

 

[chico bill]

We ought to start a club of old codgers who gets together to tell each other when we one is getting too old to remain living on our own in DR.
But we would probably forget to go to the meetings.

I have never been associated with anyone who had Alzheimer's but I can imagine that is a terrible. My mom at 100 at least had her mind till the end. Parkinson's took my grandmother and that is a devastating affliction - and I suspect few if any specialists in DR for it.

I imagine the stage where one is in a wheel chair in the DR is a very limiting point with narrow broken sidewalks, almost no handicap ramps to buildings and curb breaks seem to be few and far between. Occasionally I see people wheeling themselves in the street - a most dangerous tactic.

 

[cobraboy]

I'm guessing this DR facility doesn't dispense meds or have a nurse on staff?
How would they handle a medical emergency?

It's nothing like in the states.

Even nurses in the DR aren't the same as in the states.

There is an office where doctors come to see patients. There is no pharmacy/dispensary as in the states.

I often see an ambulance parked on the premises.

My point is, yes, it's an "old folks home." But, no, it is definitely not an SNF. It's more of a non-medical ACLF with Dominican standards.

That said, it was waaaaay ahead of anything else in the country when the owner of Cemento Cibao conceived and built it many years ago. He's the same guy who built that incomplete white elephant convention center on the autopista outside of Santiago.

It's run by nuns as a charity of sorts. I know, shocker...

 

[william webster]

We may be splitting hairs here.... complaining/worrying about future care.

Chances are you could be staring vacantly at the ceiling, mouth agape and spittle rolling off your chin.

You won’t complain much then when someone helps you....male, female, boobs...won’t matter 

 

[Juan Bosch]

All right folks I am all for planning and stuff but this is getting a bit morose......time to hit the beach....

 

[william webster]

All the naysayers about RD needed a reality check...IMO

But what if they steal my false teeth,,,chase my wife

If you’re alert enough to know about that... it’s a good sign 

 

[ExDR]

A link to the article please.....

It's true Juan, but not because the honor system is broken down. It's because the old folks are outliving the relatives. They actually have volunteer programs to check on the elderly because hundreds are found dead in their small apartment. I think the article is in the Los Angeles time or the New York Time newspaper. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/world/asia/japan-lonely-deaths-the-end.html

 

[ExDR]

The facility in Jarabacoa is primarily a charity and there is a long waiting list.

We did get the impression that a consistent monthly donation may get you a higher point on the list.

Figure RD$30,000 for a monthly facility fee, but that is with a roommate and typical, inexpensive Dominican food.

The level of care is marginally custodial and not for rehab or serious illnesses.

You really cannot compare it to any such facility in the states, e.g., step-down facilities (in on your feet, out in a box), nursing homes or ACLF's.

With decent care, that's a steal. Sign me up. Can I pinch the caregiver?

 

[Caonabo]

With decent care, that's a steal. Sign me up. Can I pinch the caregiver?

If you do, keep in mind they may file an allegation against you 25 or 30 years from now.

 

[william webster]

Pinch away -- you'll be dead in the 25-30 yrs.....

hahaha

There is an old (95+) man here where I live.... still kicking.
Rum a bit - dreams of girls.... he may make it to 140 that way !!

Keep dreaming.... the fountain of youth !!!

 

[2dlight]

...when thru alzheimers with my mother 4 years ago...very sad thing,she lived to long after she had forgotten everything....one day I was visiting my father and mother, she looked at my father when I came in the house and asked my father who I was....The hard part was watching my father go thru her sickness(she was 98 when she died) my father turned 100 this year, lives in the same house I grew up in,with the help of my sister and her husband...hope you have a better time with this illness than some of my family did with my mother...my parents were married over 70 years.........Doc.........

Thank you USA DOC. This has been an eye-opening experience for me and I take it one day at a time. I've also developed a greater appreciation for the valué of each day, and do my best to enjoy my time here to the fullest. I live with no regrets and no guilt.

 

[william webster]

I don’t think they can diagnose Alzheimer without an autopsy.

Sometimes it’s plain old dementia, senility.
Alzheimer is a much bigger deal..... all bad

The Alzheimer brain is more Square an autopsy will show, I read.

You should check it... it’s hereditary to a degree.

My Canadian masseuse got it... at 45.... there is an early one.

 

[Aguaita29]

I have never thought of the DR as the best choice for someone who is prone to emergencies. This is due to experiences with loved ones. For instance, there's places where there's no ambulance or 911; in an emergency, you get a cab driver, relative or neighbor to help you rush the person out. Even in Santo Domingo, we had an emergency with a relative, 911 came fast, but due to a technicality, they couldn't take her to the center where we wanted to take her. They wasted time making calls asking for authorization. We ended up calling a cab.