Assisted Living or Board Care

There are assisted living homes on the Island. I've seen signs. I just don't recall the names or where they are located.

Hi Kev,
Based on what I know, no member here has a person on one of those so the info will likely be limited, give it a few days, more member may add additional information.
Rey

There is one down the road from me in Fajardo that I pass often so they do exist.

Hi! Welcome to the forum. I would tread carefully with healthcare here. If you have private insurance it may be difficult to find a provider that accepts the plan and properly bills it. If you are paying cash I'd be weary of them overcharging if you are new to the island. If you have "reforma" or gov. insurance it's taken almost everywhere but you may be treated differently. (I say this from experience). Also not every healthcare worker out here speaks English and spanish, so there may be a language barrier. There is also a shortage of Doctors so wait times at hospitals from triage to discharge can be up to 12 hours. Many doctors are on call at night, but it can also take over two hours for them to show up and see you if they don't deem you urgent.

CMS is one company that I drive by in Carolina, but I don't know much about them or their quality of care. Here is their website link.
http://www.cmsdme.com/

Best of luck!

KevAkers wrote:

My mother has Multiple Sclerosis and requires a care facility with 24 hour care. Not necessarily a nursing home but she needs help with dressing, transferring to electric chair, etc.

Does your mother speak Spanish? If not you're going to make her unhappy.
Also, even if you'd find a home that suits your mother's needs don't expect the quality of the care to be as good as you're used to over there.

Most families take care of their own here on the island, that's the standard. Even if you have to go to a hospital it's expected that a family member is with the patient 24/7 to take care of her/him. The same goes for elderly who need assistance. They move in with a daughter, son, niece or one of them moves in with them and they may or may not get some professional help a couple of hours per week.

Gary is right, that is how it goes normally, now I have no idea what goes on when you have higher income. The point about Spanish is a very good point, if your mother is unable to understand other residents and the staff she is likely to be unhappy there regardless of how good the place is.

Your US health plan is unlikely to cover you or your mother for much in PR. You will need a local plan and each health plan is different. Given this is a preexisting condition it would be a much higher payment for services. You should call the insurance companies like Tripple S and MCS to see what they cover or not for her and your family before you make any decision. If you find a good plan you should ask them for recommendations of places that provide the service and that accept the plan then investigate and visit them. Maybe talk to some of the patients to see how they feel about the place and how they are being treated.
Rey

PS. maybe you should consider having her home with a caretaker several hours a day and you supplementing her care. Probably cheaper and likelier to make her happier but it will be a strain on you.