Medical Malpractice

My father is a veteran and is in the hospital...?

He had a stroke and no one found him for 3 days. His ex-wife went looking for him when he didn't show up for work and called 911. They took him to Pasco Regional in Dade City Florida which I do not beleive is a Veteran's hospital. This means he will have to pay, right? I live in North carolina and am his next of Kin. I am his only child and am leaving in a few hours to head down there. He has been in the hospital 4 days today, since monday. Does he need to be transfered to the VA hospital in Tampa when I get there? I don't know what to do. His vitals are ok and he can move everything but he is just very confused as to what happened and for a while was seeing people who were not there (ie: me, but I am in NC and his mother who passed last summer)... This is so much so fast and I am unprepared... what do I do when I get there? (besides convince him it's time to move where he has family who cares) PS, I just found out about this yesterday. No one was able to find my number or contact me because all I have is a cell phone. His ex wife's 13 year old grandaughter got the idea to look for me on Myspace after 3 days of him being in the hospital. That's why I am just now leaving! I am not a bad daughter :) Dad is 63, almost 64 (june)

Public Comments

1. The bills should be taken care of by the hospital. If he gets a bill you can talk to the office and they will write the bill off. That is what I did when my husband was in the Veterans hospital. You can talk to his doctor and the two of you can make the decision about transferring him to a hospital close to you. I hope that he recovers quickly.
2. you need to talk to the hospital accounts department, as he is a veteran, his care would be covered at the VA, however, he was taken to the closest hospital for care, this is common standard. If he is stable, then of course you can ask them to arrange for his transfer. What you may have to deal with is his mental state, if he is confused now, it is unlikely that will clear up, and he will required at the least, an assisted living situation, more likely a secure nursing home. Whether you find one for him in FLA, or take him home, that is something you will likely need to consider. Just don't put the cart before the horse, you can't do anything until you get down there and assess the situation for yourself.
3. First I would talk to the doctor who is treating him and find out his actual condition,,,if he is stable enough and what kind of damage has been done to his brain,,,ask if he still needs hospital care,,if so then ask if they have a social services dept. at Pasco Hospital ,if so see if they will assist in arrangeing a transfer to the VA hospital,,,is your Dad over 65????If he is he should be on Social Security and have Medicare,,they will help too, as they get the bills first as his primary insurance, you will need to contact them.... Ask for the local VA number and call their admin. office, now you will need his VA I.D. card or know his social security number....everything with VA is done under the social security number and his last name....If you can find out through some of his paperwork at his home what VA clinic he goes to then they can be the best help to you as they have all his records there..... This process is gonna take some time to get everyone on the same page so you need to plan a stay of a least a week to 2 weeks as your coming up on the weekend and a lot of offices and info you will need is not available on weekends.. You have a lot of calling and talking ahead of you but don't panic you will be able to do it....Take your time,,,keep a ledger/notepad of all the offices/people names you talk to and time/date of calls or info received...You will find that if you write down things as you go and keep good notes it will go alot easier for you not having to remember a whole bunch of info,,places you called and people you talk to...It is just a long involved process but it is not hard,,,just take one step at a time and you will do just find...Good Luck and God Bless