Government has indicated there may be a place for 98-year-old widow Mrs O at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital’s long-term care facility.But the cost of keeping her there would be almost $14,000 a month: far more than the amount needed to pay for at-home care.According to Ms H, the former employer of Mrs O, she received a call on Friday to say there was room at the $13,800-a-month Continuing Care Unit (CCU) and that the senior would be “approved for credit”.Ms H, who has been paying for limited at-home care for Mrs O from her own pocket for months, said she understood that to mean the state would meet the costly monthly fees.She said the call was the first indication she has had that her friend and former nanny could get any kind of financial help from Government.As revealed by The Royal Gazette last week, Mrs O has dementia and diabetes and lives on her own with no family members willing to look after her.She spends 21 hours a day alone and was recently found wandering in her yard at night in a diaper and vest.Her income is $400 a month after health insurance has been deducted and she has no known savings or assets.But Government, which has known about her situation since March, said last week she could not receive anything from the Department of Financial Assistance because she has a “life interest” in her rundown family home.This newspaper asked Government on Friday whether that decision had been reversed or whether money had been found in a different ‘pot’. No response was received by press time last night.We also asked if there might be a better and more cost-effective option than to move Mrs O to the CCU. We asked if Government could ‘approve for credit’ for at-home care. We did not get an answer from the Ministry of Health.The nonagenarian is thought to have lived in her house for almost a century and told a social worker earlier this year she wished to remain there “until she closes her eyes”.Reader Liz Stewart, whose mother has Alzheimer’s disease, visited Mrs O on Thursday after reading about her plight in this newspaper.She immediately organised overnight care and is helping to formulate a long-term care plan with Ms H.Ms Stewart believes it would be much better for Mrs O to remain in her own home with assistance. The cost of that has not yet been determined but she expects it to be far less than $13,800 a month.Ms H said Government told her on Friday it needed to assess Mrs O to “see if she’s of right mind to say if she wants to be placed” at the CCU.She said: “It’s on the condition that she wants to go and that’s she of right mind to make her own decision.”Ms H added that she was now considering what to do to best help her friend.“I want to make the right decision. I want to do what’s best for her and that’s what I have always wanted to do.”The LCCA (Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association) has agreed to collect money to pay for Mrs O’s care.Anyone wanting to make a donation needs to specify that it is for Mrs O. Donations can be mailed or delivered to the LCCA at the following addresses: LCCA, PO Box HM 64, Hamilton, HM AX or LCCA, 26 Bermudiana Road, International Ctr Suite 211, Hamilton, HM 11.Donations may also be made to LCCA account #010-287-209-001 at HSBC. Please follow up your deposit by calling the LCCA on 292-1132 to advise the amount deposited and to specify that the funds are for Mrs O.l If you plan to hold a fundraising event for Mrs O, please let us have the details. E-mail sstrangewaysroyalgazette.bm.