My Mom, who has been battling oral cancer for some time, now needs help with her medications. She needs general support - crushing the chemo and pain pills, reading the measurements for liquid medications (as her eyesight isn't great), systematic help in doing all this 4 times/day. She's still able to take the medications and feed herself thru a G tube. We're having difficulty finding alternatives to expensive in-house nursing care not covered by Medicare (don't believe she's eligible for Medical).

- Is there a way you've found to get Medicare to cover this in-house supportive care (if continuous vs. "intermittant")?
- Is a skilled nurse necessary for preparing vs. giving meds (per liability or can an less expensive caretaker do)?
- Is there a caregiving resource that lists licensed independent, contracting nurses (vs. associated with an expensive agency)?
- Understand after a surgery, agencies (approved by doctor and Medicare) can re-certify every 30 days so can continue skilled nursing care - is that really a viable option (she's planning another surgery shortly)?

Thanks very much for any help or suggestions!

Laura