Should I move my elderly mother during this epidemic?

March 8, 2020 7:47 AM

My mother, who is in her late 80's, is in the early stages of dementia but is otherwise healthy. She broke her hip six months ago, but completed her physical therapy and now gets around without assistance. She has agreed to move from her current facility in small-town Indiana to a facility near us in Atlanta. Should I move her now or wait for the possibility that the epidemic will abate in the summer? She will not be flying. We will drive up to get her.

The medical care is much better in Atlanta and I can easily get help for her, if needed. On the other hand, driving her from there to here will expose her to more people for that one day.

posted by donpardo to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Seems like now might be the best time to do it for a while. Unless she’s currently completely isolated it doesn’t seem like she should need to interact with all that many extra people during a 1-2 day drive.
posted by mskyle at 8:42 AM on March 8, 2020 [2 favorites]

Driving from Indiana to Atlanta is totally safe now, she's much more at risk of infection in the facilities than travelling by car through rural areas. I would be somewhat concerned about the actual facility in Atlanta, you want to confirm they have proper policies in place as those can have elevated risk for infection
posted by JZig at 8:47 AM on March 8, 2020 [7 favorites]

Best answer: Drive her now. The simple fact that the medical care is much better is a huge plus. All group facilities are elevated risks in theory -- the cluster of cases in Daegu, my in-laws hometown in South Korea, included a major outbreak at a large psychiatric hospital, so getting your mom to a place where she's close to you and with better care is much more important than the tiny risk of exposure on the drive. If you have alcohol prep pads, you can wipe down handles/door knobs at a restaurant bathroom etc to be extra careful. The main thing would be to carry soap (in case a rest stop doesn't have soap available, or only bar soap) and refrain from touching your face.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:05 AM on March 8, 2020 [12 favorites]

If there's any way she could live with you until the epidemic is over she'd be exposed even less.
posted by mareli at 2:01 PM on March 8, 2020 [2 favorites]

With dementia in play, I'd move her as soon as possible -- like, this week, if you can -- so she can acclimate to her new surroundings better. Any change is hard on dementia sufferers, and the more advanced the dementia is, the more brutal change is. I would seriously prioritize that over any virus worries, as long as you're taking precautions.
posted by current resident at 8:26 PM on March 9, 2020