I actually found AnneMarie by accident. She helped us identify a Long Term Care Facility with a locked unit for dementia patients and negotiated the insurance approval - so what does that mean... here is my story.
My mom was diagnosed with early stages of Dementia. She was refusing to do anything to get help with this diagnosis, and ended up in Penn Station Newark unattended with a one way bus ticket to Pennsylvania when she was found by the local police, completely confused and no idea where she needed to be. When they contacted us, we had her admitted to Mountainside Hospital for evaluation. My mother had no savings, no property and no assets. She was living on social security and had Medicare/Medicaid. In order to avoid the hospital releasing her to her own apartment, we had them admit her to the Psychiatric Unit for further evaluation, and with the hopes that from there we could get her into a Senior Facility with a "locked unit" as she was now considered an elopement risk. The hospital was insistent that we would have one or two, at most choices of a facility that would have a Medicaid bed available, and they needed to release her asap. This is when I started to research on line patients rights, etc, more looking to find someone who could help extend her stay until we could figure something out - she could not go home alone, and we were unable to move her in with to our home with our children and our working full time. This is when I came across AnneMarie. My husband and I called her that morning, and that very same day she met us at Mountainside and had arranged a team meeting with the staff. They were still insistent that it would be hard to find a facility. Well within 24 to 48 hours, AnneMarie, had found at least four to five facilities that had Medicaid beds available. We were astatic and ready to move her out! However, as things go, it did not pan out as the Medicaid my mother had, was not institutional Medicaid which is required to be in a long term facility. My husband and I had tried to do this previously on our own, so were now telling AnnMarie, how we would not be able to get this done, I kid you not, it was near impossible to get a single person through her insurance or Medicaid to commit to telling us how to have this done! This is where again AnneMarie said leave it to me, and off she went. For the next several weeks (while my mother remained in Mountainside with endless threats from the staff that she had to leave), AnneMarie, made call after call after call, some with us on, and some on her own where she could. Finally at what seemed the last hour before they sent my mother out the door AnneMarie pulled off getting her into a facility and had the Medicaid switched over. I still can not tell you how's it is done, but I can tell you if you need help with Medicaid/Finding a facility for your loved one that accepts Medicaid, AnneMarie is the woman to call. AnneMarie was our guardian angel just when we needed her most, I have to honestly say without her I am not sure where my mother would be today. Give her a chance for sure, you will not be disappointed I am certain!
