Amber Klienhans, owner and administrator of Faith By Choice Home Care, recently helped give voice to one resident at Avamere who was no longer benefitting from the skilled nursing facility services.

“Skilled nursing facilities are the second most expensive option to the hospital,” Janet Parris, program development manager at Olympic Area Agency on Aging, said.

Depending on one’s situation, a stay at a skilled nursing facility can cost between $8,000 and $12,000 a month once Medicare, which only covers a certain number of days, runs out, regional long-term care ombudsman Jane Meyer explained.

“Medicaid will help cover some costs, but patients have to meet the functional and financial criteria,” Meyer said.

Wanting to both save funds and regain some independence, the 91-year-old World War II veteran wanted to live in his own apartment with the aid of a home health care service. Prior to entering Avamere, however, he was a target of “financial exploitation” – a term well known among senior health care providers, Parris said.

The veteran’s private caretaker had drained his bank account without his knowledge, Klienhans said.

“It scares us witless when we see personal ads looking for home help,” Parris said. “We really encourage people to go through an agency.”

Given the veteran’s situation, Klienhans and her staff stepped in to help and within one day they had rallied the community together and residents from Port Townsend to Port Angeles donated more than enough to furnish an apartment.

“It was beyond my wildest dreams,” the veteran said. “Before, I had nothing.”

Despite the community support and Klienhans’s devotion to assisting the veteran once in his own apartment, Avamere officials wouldn’t release the veteran until Klienhans came to the facility and asked the right questions.

With Faith By Choice Home Care officials as his advocates, Avamere officials discharged the veteran, but only after he signed a payment plan given he still owed the facility, Klienhans said.

“I get it … they’re a business and need to make money, too, but you have to balance your business model with the quality of care,” Klienhans said. “Seniors need to know their rights.”

Charla Wright, social service director at Avamere, had no comment on transitioning the veteran from Avamere to an apartment and said it would be a violation of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).

“I started this company to change the face of health care and stop this from both ends – clients and caregivers,” Klienhans said. “It’s a whole system that needs to be healed …that’s what it boils down to.”

Although there is a time and place for all types of care, Klienhans said, identifying what each individual’s care and safety needs are can be difficult if that person doesn’t have an advocate to help them through the process.