Kathleen A. Gagne

Kathie Gagne died 4,642 days ago.

January 24th, 2012 @ 1:02 pm

I sent this message to Judy Martin <Judy.Martin@HamptonManor.net> and copied my sister:

Dear Judy,

I never received a response to the message I sent last Wednesday, January 18, 2012. I’ve included it here again, and am copying my sister, [name redacted]. ([name redacted] lives in Seattle, WA.)

On the evening of Thursday, January 19, 2012, my mother was transferred from Stewart-Marchman-Act to the Halifax Hospital Psychiatric Center located at 303 N Clyde Morris. She was given an MRI on Friday and — as far as I can tell — is finally receiving actual medical attention and daily therapy and evaluations. They have stopped administering anti-psychotics and anti-depressants and she seems to be doing much, much better.

Although she is certainly not “back” to where she was prior to the event of Thanksgiving, I have had several conversations with her in the last three days in which she has been very lucid and cognizant of her situation. She is understandably scared and somewhat confused, but her situation has improved drastically and dramatically.

I can now confirm that my mother has been added to multiple waiting lists at both C.A.R.E.S. and at ElderSource for an assisted living facility waiver and for a program specifically targeted at individuals dealing with dementia. Delia Mcclain (mcclaind@elderaffairs.org) at ElderSource was very helpful in this process.

Please let me know if there is any other information I can provide or anything else I can do.

Sincerely,

David Vincent Gagne

A Response from Delia

January 24th, 2012 @ 7:43 am

Delia McClain sent me this email in response to my previous email and questions about Medicaid:

Good morning Mr. Gagne,

During our previous discussion, you also informed me that your mother had been diagnose with Dementia. I'd advised you that there is a program for clients with Dementia that I would add her name to in addition to the Assisted Living Facility Waiver wait lists. The phone screening you completed with me, resulted to placing your mother on the appropriate wait list, therefore, you have done what was needed to ensure that.

Medicaid is a state and federal health program which provides coverage for people with lower incomes, the elderly and people with disabilities-who Eldersource serves, and some families and children. Anyone can apply for Medicaid. Eldersource can also assist the people we serve apply for Medicaid, among other programs. Medicaid isn't a universal term for assorted programs/wait lists, however, there are different programs under Medicaid. A Medicaid program we manage/fund here at Elersource is Medicaid Waiver. Services under the Medicaid Waiver program can be rec'd in a client's home or in an assisted living facility (ALF)-which your mother is currently on the wait list for. Eldersource will assist you to process your mother for the ALF program when her name comes up.

Hope I've answer your questions. You can find more about Eldersource at our website @ myeldersource.org.

Thank you,
Delia

Delia McClain, CIRS
Medicaid Client Services Specialist
ElderSource
NE FL AAA and ARC - PSA4
4160 Woodcock Drive, 2nd Floor
Jacksonville, Fl 32207
Direct: 904-391-6655
Fax: 904-391-6693
mcclaind@elderaffairs.org

Mission: To empower individuals to age with independence and dignity by providing leadership, direction, advocacy, and support for a comprehensive coordinated continuum of care.

Note: This email and any attachments are confidential and may be
privileged. Unauthorized access or dissemination of this information may
be a violation of criminal statutes. If you are not the intended
recipient, please notify ElderSource by
replying to this message or by sending an email to aaanef@covad.net and
destroying all copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you.

What Exactly Is Medicaid?

January 23rd, 2012 @ 2:45 pm

I sent this email to Delia McClain, Medicaid Client Services Specialist at ElderSource in Jacksonville, Florida:

Hello, Delia,

Thank you!

You said that my mother, “will remain on the wait lists until funding becomes available.” I was only aware of a single wait list, what I have been referring to as the waiting list to receive an “assisted living facility assistance waiver”.

Are there multiple waiting lists to which my mother has been added? If so, can you explain to me what they are?

Is there something else I need to do to confirm that my mother has been added to the appropriate waiting lists?

And finally, can you explain to me what exactly “Medicaid” is? Is “Medicaid” simply a term used to refer universally to these assorted waiting lists or is it a specific program to which I need to apply separately?

Thank you sincerely,

David Vincent Gagne
[redacted]
first-born son of
KATHLEEN ANNE GAGNE
aka “KATHIE” GAGNE
Maiden Name: [redacted]
DOB: 09/22/1948
SS#: [redacted]

A Message to Connie

January 23rd, 2012 @ 2:03 pm

I just received this email from Constance “Connie” Wade at Halifax Hospital:

Dear David.

I am sending you the information you requested. Your Mother’s height is recorded to be 67.99 inches and weight is 228.84. It is good you are working on a medicaid waiver. We do need to understand her funding. I have requested the team here to explore funding through medicaid. We will stay in touch with the planning. Marilyn will be working with your Mother on Tuesday and I will be back on Wednesday and the rest of the week.

Connie

I replied to her ¹ with the following:

Dear Connie,

Thank you very much for sending me the information about my mother’s height and weight. I have forwarded that data to Delia Mcclain at Elder Source (mcclaind@elderaffairs.org, (888) 242-4464) who on Friday morning helped me to finalize my mother’s application to be on the waiting list for an “assisted living facility waiver”. I have also been working extensively with Linda at C.A.R.E.S. (386) 238-4946 to have my mother added to what I assumed is a completely separate waiver waiting list, but I am honestly not sure how that works or why there are two separate organizations responsible for having someone added to a single list.

In a phone call on December 21, 2011, Sophia Mas at Stewart-Marchman-Act told me that she had done the work necessary to have my mother added to that waiting list, but when I attempted to determine my mother’s “rank” on the list on January 17, 2012, representatives from Elder Source and C.A.R.E.S. both informed me that they had no record of my mother at all. At that point Sophia Mas admitted to me via email that she had not, in fact, done the work necessary to have my mother added to the waiting list and I would have to begin the entire process from the beginning on my own.

I can tell you that my mother receives approximately $[redacted] from Social Security on or about the fourth Wednesday of each month, and that she started receiving those funds on November 24, 2010. The money is direct-deposited into my sister [name redacted]’s checking account, from which she handles paying my mother’s rent, electric and cable bills, etc. My sister was also transferring a portion of this each month into a separate checking account which my mother accessed via debit card for purchasing her prescriptions. […] Unfortunately sometime near the end of August 2011, my mother lost her debit card and there is some confusion as to whether it was ever found and replaced.

My sister [name redacted] lives in Seattle, WA and can be reached at [redacted] or [redacted].

Please, please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any more information I can provide or anything I can do to help.

Thank you sincerely,

David Vincent Gagne

¹ I sent it to both conniewade@halifax.org and to Constance.Wade@halifax.org because she told me that one of those was her email address on the phone, but then sent me an email with the other one as the return address.

Re: Kathleen Gagne

January 23rd, 2012 @ 1:56 pm

Here is an email I received from Delia McClain, Medicaid Client Services Specialist with ElderSource:

Good afternoon Mr. Gagne,

I rec’d your mother’s info and have updated the database accordingly. Hope your mother’s health improves so she can get her independence back.

As advised during our previous discussion, she will remain on the wait lists until funding becomes available and her name comes up to be process. Also, you can call Eldersource at 904-391-6600 or the Volusia Council on Aging at 386-253-4700 at anytime, if you have any questions/concerns. I can be reached at the phn # below also.

Take care and best wishes for your mother’s recovery.

Thank you,
Delia

Delia McClain, CIRS
Medicaid Client Services Specialist
ElderSource
NE FL AAA and ARC – PSA4
4160 Woodcock Drive, 2nd Floor
Jacksonville, Fl 32207
Direct: 904-391-6655
Fax: 904-391-6693
mcclaind@elderaffairs.org

Mission: To empower individuals to age with independence and dignity by providing leadership, direction, advocacy, and support for a comprehensive coordinated continuum of care.

Note: This email and any attachments are confidential and may be
privileged. Unauthorized access or dissemination of this information may
be a violation of criminal statutes. If you are not the intended
recipient, please notify ElderSource by
replying to this message or by sending an email to aaanef@covad.net and
destroying all copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you.

Intake Assessment Follow-Up

January 23rd, 2012 @ 1:14 pm

I just sent the following message to Delia Mcclain, Medicaid Client Services Specialist at ElderSource:

Dear Delia,

We spoke on Friday, January 20, 2012 at approximately 12:45pm Eastern time. This is regarding my mother:

KATHLEEN ANNE GAGNE
aka “KATHIE” GAGNE
Maiden Name: [redacted]
DOB: [redacted]
SS#: [redacted]

You had asked me to confirm her height and weight for the intake assessment you did with me over the phone.

I spoke to the nurses at Halifax Hospital Psychiatric Unit 2500, where she is currently, and was told that as of this morning, her height is 5 feet, 8 inches and her weight is 228.84 pounds.

Please let me know if there is any more information I can provide, or if there is anything else I need to do.

I am available at any time, day or night. My mother’s health and care is of utmost importance to me.

Thank you sincerely,

David Vincent Gagne

Writing Letters

January 23rd, 2012 @ 10:28 am

I started writing my mom a letter every day almost immediately after she was admitted to Stewart-Marchman at the beginning of December. I printed bunches and bunches of photos of my son and me, and I included two or three photos in almost every letter. When she was transferred from Stewart-Marchman to the Psychiatric Unit at Halifax Hospital, I sent this email to Sophia Mas:

Hey Sophia,

You should still receive a few cards that I sent to my mom before she was transferred to Halifax. Is there any way you can forward those to her?

Thanks in advance,

She replied to me the next day, January 24th, at 12:47 PM PDT:

David,

Received a few rubber-banded together and found some old ones w/pictures will leave at the hospital tonight – I am glad she is where further testing can be done –

Take care

Sophia

A Neurological Evaluation

January 20th, 2012 @ 11:30 am

I just received the following email from Constance Wade at the Halifax Hospital Psychiatric Unit:

I am pleased to inform you a neurological evaluation has been ordered for your mother. We will be mailing the guardian advocate book and test to you. Please fill out the test and mail it back to us. Our nursing staff was given your name and phone number to contact. Hopefully we will be able to assist your mother. Call me with any questions or concerns. Tomorrow, Saturday Marlyn Gandt Hudson LCSW will be here.

I replied to her twenty minutes later with this message:

Dear Connie,

Thank you SO much for this email. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate receiving information about my mother.

Nurse Rhonda called me at about 9:00 AM (noon your time) to ask me many questions in preparation to give my mother an MRI.

If possible, can you please tell me my mother’s current height and weight? (I need this information to complete an application to add her to the waiting list at ElderSource for an “assisted living waiver”.)

Thank you sincerely,

A Very Long Day

January 20th, 2012 @ 6:20 am

Here are my notes from January 20th:

0620:
Connie Wade called, my first conversation with her
unsure of her own email address – conniewade@halifax.org?
sounded very caring and competent, said mom is on 2500 unit and Rhonda is her nurse today
Connie gave me address to send mom cards, etc.
Halifax Psychiatric Center
303 N Clyde Morris Blvd, DAB FL 32114
said “common room” phone number is
(386) 254-4283 open from 9:30A-9:30P(ET)

0900:
Rhonda called to ask me a bunch of questions about implanted metals, magnets, because of MRI

0920:
phone call from ElderSource in Jacksonville, the same office where Timothy Jefferson works
someone named Edwin took mom’s “intake assessment”, which took about 30 min

0945:
Edwin transferred me to Deliah McClain, who said she spoke to Deborah, who told her mom was in an institution in Baker County.
I explained that she was Baked Acted in Volusia County, and explained to her the whole story

1000AM:
Deliah said she added mom to “assisted living facility” waiver list; said the assessment done by C.A.R.E.S. is not the same as the assessment done by ElderSource
said C.A.R.E.S. primarily does assessments for ElderSource and for other types of services
said C.A.R.E.S. handles assessments and fund distribution for nursing homes
said ElderSource handles fund distribution for ALFs

1015:
a phone call from Rodney at Stewart-Marchman interrupted call w/Deliah to confirm that I knew mom was transferred okay to Halifax

Deliah continued her intake
mcclaind@elderaffairs.org, (904) 391-6600

1600h:
called mom, was told Evelyn on duty
spoke with Pat, said mom was medicated during the MRI, said mom didn’t sleep well the previous night and was very sleepy today
said visiting hours 6:30A-8:30P every day
also 2-4PM on weekends

Location Confirmed

January 19th, 2012 @ 7:00 pm

I called Halifax Hospital to see if I could talk to my mom. I figured she’d be scared and anxious about being transferred from Stewart-Marchman ACT to there so abruptly. Unfortunately because it was so late and because of the amazingly consistent inefficiency and incompetence of the healthcare system in Volusia County, nobody there could find any authorization for me to be informed of anything about my mother.

Eventually two different caring and kind nurses managed to surreptitiously convey to me that my mom was there and that she was okay. One of them said something like, “If she was here, and you’d be smart to assume that she is, I could tell you that she is watching TV in her room and perfectly safe. You can call tomorrow and get more information.”

In my notes I wrote:

1900: called Halifax, talked to several nurses unable to confirm mom there, but let me know she was there and safe, okay