My Mom did better at the assisted living than the skilled nursing facility. My mom is 92 with a routine at the ALF, but at the SNF the staff doesn't know her and there is no consistency. My mom can do more than the SNF realizes. I would rather my mom go back to assisted living.
Regardless, my experience with SNF is that some facilities will only treat the person to what they think the capabilities of the person should be for that age. They do not take into account if the person was functioning at a higher level than the age. My Mom loved SNF. They didn't expect anything out of her. They even helped her put on her clothes! 3 weeks earlier, she was completely independent and living alone with no assistance and even cooking for herself. When Medicare would not pay anymore, it was because she was functioning at the norms for her age and the PT at the SNF said he could not help her anymore.
I was livid. She left SNF a zombie. She could barely move from bed to wheelchair. She needed help going to and from the toilet. She was nearly bedridden. She was on serious painkillers however she still complained of pain. She was 97 at the time and they said it was normal for her age to be that way.
Anyway, once Medicare wouldn't pay, the SNF was happy to release her. She was in SNF because I was unable to take care of her full-time during that time. It was horrible for me. She remembers being pampered.
So, in your case, your Mom could go back to assisted living at any time. The question is, do you want to be in charge of her medical care? Depending upon why she is in SNF, the assisted living center may charge extra for extra services to get her back to functioning the way she was and Medicare may or may not pay for it. Also, her medical care might make you more involved in her care. Are you willing to shoulder that responsibility?
At least in my state, all you have to do to get someone out of SNF is to agree to be responsible for the ongoing care for that person.
That might make a big difference.
ALF can not use equipment to transfer someone. So if mom needs more than 2 people to transfer, or if even with 2 people it is not safe to transfer mom they can't.
If mom has "tubes" ALF can not maintain them.
If mom has no physical problems that she was moved from ALF to SNF were there any other reasons for the move?
A bit more info is needed.
If its for Rehab from a hospital stay then its temporary. She will be discharged back to her AL. But then, it could last for 100 days and that means Mom maybe paying out of pocket.
If she was placed there permanently, what were the reasons at the time? We really need more info.
ALs are limited in the care they can provide. They usually have one Nurse and aides. When it comes to a person needing constant care, ALs are not the answer. As their name suggests, they assist.
We placed our step-mother age 84 in MC from AL 3 months ago, she was on the edge and we felt it was better to do it sooner rather than later, she has now gone over the cliff, very glad that we made the decision when we did, no emergency, no waiting list no additional stress for either of us.
It is not about what you want it is about what your mother needs today and most important tomorrow.