I live in Oregon. In September of last year, my father was released into my care from a Southern California rehab facility after suffering a stroke. His caseworker there thought it was best with how “young” my stepsister was. Now with him here, he is depressed and is like a fish out of water. He wants to be down in Southern California where most of the family and all his friends are. He should qualify for Medi-Cal without issue, and he is on Medicare. Is there any way to set it up from Oregon? Also if I knew how long it would roughly take if he moved in with family down there, I might get them to open their doors for him. Thanks
It is possible that Dad is "like a fish out of water" so far from other family and friends. And it is also possible that his depression is a result of the reduced independence he has since the stroke. Or the stroke itself may have caused changes in his brain that show up as depression.
Moving him back to familiar territory may be a good thing. But you should be aware of the possibility that the move may not solve his unhappiness.
Can you set up getting him on Medi-Cal from Oregon? I don't see why you can't prepare an application from where ever you are (there is an application form available online), if you have access to all his financial records.
I believe there is a California residency requirement, although I don't know if there is a length-of-time for that residency. Can you apply the day you move to California? Do you have to have lived there at least x months? I don't know!
I suggest that you call the Area Agency on Aging in Southern California and ask about residency requirements, and also the average length of time from submitting application to getting a decision.
Meanwhile, I hope that your father will get some treatment for his depression, if he is not already. This will be useful whether he stays in Oregon or moves to California, and whether he goes to an Assisted Living Facility or lives with family. Clinical depression is a disease, and it is seldom cleared up by a change in living conditions (although that can certainly contribute to treatment).
My dad would go along with being placed in an AL in SoCal if it meant seeing family and friends, and especially the grandkids. No one I have talked to has the room for him to fully move into their homes. I hope to find info on the wait times in SoCal for AL after appyling for Medi-Cal. If I can present it to family I might get them to open their home for the time needed, it could extend to my mom's side of the family if I ask.
His stroke happened on the left side of the brain. In reading up on strokes of his type on the left side it is common for the person to have some level of depression. With that said, his depression worsened after his week long trip to SoCal to see family. He is now on a low dose of Zoloft, which seems to be helping a bit. I wouldn't doubt that some of his depression comes from the reduced independence, but my dad is the old fashioned type that doesn't like to show weakness or talk about such things to family. He will sometimes open up to his caregiver. I think it's a bit hard for him to talk about it too because of the stroke/confussion and his lack of education (8th grade???).
I talked to the Agency on Aging in Riverside County, in CA they do the agency by county. The lady said he would have to be in California to signup for Medi-Cal, since he is on Medicare/Medicaid it would be instant transition, but could not get me any information with AL waiting times. She did mention about a AL transfer from Oregon to SoCal, but could not give my any solid information.