I am the SOLE caregiver for my 90y.o. Mother and have been for 7+ years now,,, I think,,, things have become a blur of late, it's been hard. I have actually been taking care of her to some degree since 1986 when my father was no longer around. About 7 years or so she started showing signs of Dementia. I basically shut down my life, got rid of my house, shoved my things into a garage storage, and moved into her apartment to take the best care of her I could. I have pretty much always taken care of things without a handout, without taking advantage of any system or agency or program etc. I feel I have been doing a pretty good job. I may be being a little hard on myself, as those who have seen what has been going on for these past years, have constantly given me more than ample praise, but I always feel I could do better,,, just my nature. I have always expected more from myself, and sadly felt most people don't put forth as much effort as they were/are capable of. This is in reference to jobs and working. I was raised to always do your best! A cub scout, a boy scout, a Special Forces Instructor in the military, running health clubs and helping people improve their health,,, and would have been a Houston Fireman, but paperwork got messed up by the Social Security office and I lost my position to get into the training program. This was in 1986 when I took on the responsibility to start taking care of mom. I have always tried to do my best and just expected the same from others.
THIS IS WHAT I HOPED WOULD BE THE CASE IN SELECTING DEVOTED HEALTHCARE FOR MY MOM!
She has had her primary care physician, her doctor, for decades. Her doctor was on her insurance company's plan until her doctor dropped off or something that gave my mo. 2 options. Either get a new doctor or get a new insurance company. An easy decision in my mind. Long story short on this point, we choose Devoted.
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION HERE! The 1st year was fine. She received gift cards with small amounts for things like getting a basic checkup, getting vaccinations, or whatever. They called a couple times asking about things. BUT THAT WAS YEAR ONE,,, COME YEAR 2,,, THAT ALL CHANGED! THAT'S WHEN THE LIES, MISREPRESENTATION, AND THIEVING, IN MY EYES, STARTED!
LOST MONEY DUE TO THE WAY THEIR "OTC" PROGRAM IS SET UP. TOOK LIKE 5 - 6 MONTHS, TO GET A RECHARGEABLE TOOTHBRUSH TO REPLACE THE BATTERY OPERATED ONE THAT BROKE BEFORE THE END OF THE 2ND MONTH, WHICH GOT REPLACED BY US FINALLY GETTING A HIGH DOLLAR RECHARGEABLE THAT DIDN'T LAST A MONTH,,, THEN WAS TOLD IT HAD NO WARRANTY! TOOK ABOUT 15 "MONTHS" TO FINALLY GET HER A MOBILITY SCOOTER,,, 15 MONTHS! WAS WORKING WITH A LADY THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY A SUPERVISOR UNTIL I MENTIONED TO THE MOBILITY STORE ABOUT EVEN A DEVOTED SUPERVISOR WAS FAILING TO GET HELP FROM THEM,,, THEN THE LADY SAID SHE WANTED TO CLEAR UP THE FACT THAT SHE WAS NOT A SUPERVISOR,,, SEVERAL MONTHS INTO THE PROCESS!
LAST WEEK A LADY CALLED ASKING IF MY MOM WAS AVAILABLE. I TOLD HER NO AND SHE NEEDED TO CALL BACK IN 5 MINUTES. ABOUT 5 "DAYS" AND STILL WAITING! SO I CALLED TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON. ONLY TO BE HUNG UP ON SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT MY EFFORTS! SPOKE WITH A SUPERVISOR,,, MAY HAVE BEEN A CLEANING LADY AS FAR AS KNOW,,, BUT AFTER I VERIFY THINGS, SHE SAID SHE NEEDED TO SPEAK TO MY MOM FOR HER TO GET AUTHORIZATION TO DISCUSS ANYTHING WITH ME.
I HAVE AUTHORIZATION! I HAVE FULL POWER OF ATTORNEY! I HSVE BEEN DEALING WITH THEM ON HER BEHALF SINCE THE BEGINNING! I TOLD HER "READ THE NOTES ON HER ACCOUNT" AND TOLD HER CALL ME BACK WITHIN AN HOUR,,, OF COURSE SHE NEVER CALLED BACK! SHE IS A HORRIBLE, HEARTLESS PERSON! MY EVENING ENDED WITH ME "CUSSING" A GIRL THAT REFUSED TO GET ME A SUPERVISOR, AND ME CALLING BACK, AFTER THE 3RD, 4TH OR 5TH HANG UP, TO START A GRIEVANCE PROCESS "AS PER THEIR WEBSITE",,, I CALLED AT 7:55PM JUST TO BE PUT ON HOLD A COUPLE MINUTES AFTER 8PM,,, THAT TURNED INTO HER NEVER COMING BACK FROM THE HOLD AND INSTEAD DISCONNECTING THE CALL AND THEY STOP TAKING CALLS AT 8PM!
THEY LOVE USING THE PHRASE,,, "OUR CUSTOMERS ARE LIKE FAMILY TO US" & TOLD ME, YOUR MOTHER IS LIKE OUR MOTHER/GRANDMOTHER TO US"!
THEY MUST "HATE" THEIR FAMILIES, ESPECIALLY THEIR ELDERLY FAMILY MEMBERS,,, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TREATED MY MOM LIKE A SECOND-CLASS CITIZEN! I WAS SO PISSED OFF! THE 2ND TO THE LAST GIRL WANTED TO VERIFY WHATEVER WITH MY MOM,,, SO I LET HER! MY MOM WAS SO CONFUSED WITH THE COUPLE OF QUESTIONS SHE ASKED MY MOM "WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO CALL YOU BACK LATER",,, I HAD ENOUGH OF THE BULL$#*!, I GRABBED THE PHONE AND GAVE HER HELL AS I EXPLAINED "MY MOM IS 90Y.O. AND HAS DEMENTIA AND DOESN'T UNDERDTAND ANYTHING THE GIRL WAS ASKING OR GOING TO ASK, AND ALL IT DID WAS MAKE MY MOM FEEL BAD BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO COMMUNICATE OVER THE PHONE WITHOUT MY HELP"! I BELIEVE THAT CALL ENDED WITH ONE OF THE MANY HANGUPS!
THE PEOPLE AT DEVOTED CARE ABOUT NOTHING OR NOBODY EXCEPT THE MONEY,, A PAYCHECK ON FRIDAY! MY MOM IS JUST A NUMBER THAT THEY BENEFIT FROM FINANCIALLY! LIARS & THIEVES!