My mother-in-law has not been diagnosed with LEWY but it has been suggested. She will be 90 on Sunday and has lived alone for many years, taken care of herself, meds, etc. She falls down every 2 months or so but never breaks anything. We have noticed a decline in her abilities this year. Sunday morning she went to the bathroom, peed on the rug because she couldn't hold it and then fell down on the way back to her bed. She left her distress button on the side of the bed. She layed there for 3 hours until she could crawl to the phone to call us. We called the ambulance and they took her to emergency. No broken bones, etc. but the doc fussed at us for letting her live on her own and then told her she needed to move to a facility. She has relented and we are moving her into a retirement center but I wonder if that is the right place.
Lately, she has been sleeping a lot during the day. When she wakes up, even though fully dressed and in a chair, she thinks it is morning. She will eat her breakfast again and she has taken her morning pills again and it is usually around 6:00 in the evening. Eventually she calls and wants to know what day it is and is very confused. This has happened 3 times recently. Tonight we sat with her and transferred all her meds into one of those boxes. I hope she gets it right.
The home she is moving into has good security and they check on them during the day if they don't come out. And she gets 2 meals a day and physical therapy. Really concerned.
We are seeing her psychiatrist tomorrow and will have much to say to him.

Sometimes the MD says the right things to families.

Does the retirement center offer frequent (eg, each hour) checks on residents, and dispense meds? If not, it's not the right place.

Do NOT rely on your mother to handle her own meds unless you've checked with the prescribing MD and he/she is OK with over-doses of these particular meds.

Yes these things must be checked prior to moving your MIL to a new home, With LBD nothing stays the same and I know it is hard to plan long term but it is best to plan as well as you can and honestly if you have never stayed with her at night she could be a very different person, the med boxes may work for a while but if time is a thing she is confused with she will still get up and take the meds at the wrong time, I used the med boxes and I did find my husband taking meds for 6:00 am at 1:00 am because he believed it was morning,I started to hide them to prevent that but again that's where the home she is going to comes into play, she needs more supervision that just checking daily, I hope it all works out for the family!

Yes, the center does check on the residents periodically during the day. Don't know about the med situation but will check on that. We know the administrator of the place and I have decorated many of the units for clients. So we are familiar with it. And they have a nursing facility right there. We'll be seeing the psychiatrist today and will definitely do some checking. Thank you for your help. Carol