Post Hospital Care – Tips for Returning Home After An Acute Illness Hospital Stay
A hospital stay due to an acute illness can often be traumatic for both the patient and the family. It’s not a planned stay or the result of battling a chronic illness. It usually refers to something that developed quickly in your loved one that required an immediate hospital stay. In recent years, it’s most commonly thought of with those elderly individuals who needed to be hospitalized due to Covid-19. It could have been for several days, weeks, or sometimes, even months.
When it’s time for your loved one to get discharged, there will be great relief that she finally gets to go home and is recovering well enough that the doctors feel she’ll do better at home. But the journey is not over. As her caregiver, it’s important to plan for her return home so that she can focus on regaining her strength.
As you plan for her triumphant return home, here are five planning tips to consider.
- Arrange for help. Wherever your elderly loved one calls home, she’s going to need some post hospital care help. Many seniors return home with little-to-no energy or strength and need help doing basic things, including using the bathroom. Having a professional provide post hospital care might be a great way for your loved one to feel comfortable about returning home and reducing the risk of her injuring herself.
- Get clear instructions from her discharge team. Before she even leaves the hospital, sit with her and her discharge team to find out what you both can expect. Will she have medications and a schedule that she must take them? Will she need to be on a special diet? Will she have any physical limitations such as lifting objects? With the knowledge you receive from her doctors and nurses, you’ll be better able to know what kind of post-hospital care she’ll need.
- Prepare the home. Before she steps foot in the house, have her recovery area set up and ready to go. This might mean you’ve needed to move her bed to a new area that eliminates the need for stairs or has her closer to the bathroom. You might also consider having a mini fridge near her recovery area so that she can have everything she needs within arms’ reach.
- Keep her connected. As long as guests are healthy and the doctor has given the okay, plan for regular visitors during her recovery time so that she doesn’t feel too isolated. If personal visits are not the best right away, phone calls and video calls are a great way to keep her reminded that there are a lot of people cheering her on through her recovery.
- Keep her moving. Follow the doctor’s orders about how much activity she should have each day and how much she should increase it. Getting around and moving will prevent muscles from atrophying and bone mass from reducing. A post hospital care provider can help with her physical therapy to keep her on track and safe while she recovers.
Having a good plan for your loved one’s return home will help her get back on the road to good health more quickly and with fewer complications.
If you or someone you know needs help with post hospital care in Grand Rapids, MI, contact Gauthier Family Home Care. We provide quality and affordable home care services in our community. Call us at (616) 258-2300 for more information.
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