As our loved one’s age, it is inevitable that sooner or later a hospital visit will be to come to occur. This could be to many contributing reasons, such as a fall, infections or on going medical treatments. The older we get our bodies are less likely to jump right back into the rhythm of things especially when you have been undergoing major surgeries or recovering at a rehabilitation center with minimum physical activity. Consider the services for your loved ones if they have recently left a rehabilitation center or are going through Post-Hospital recovery from a major surgery.
If you are the primary decision planner for your aging parent or loved ones, the very first thing you need to do is have a meeting with the hospital coordinator- often a social worker, case manager or discharge planner. Once in contact with the appropriate staff, make sure to go over Expected date of discharge, list of providers for aftercare, and List of resources for additional information and support.
Options for Services Post-Hospital Recovery
Many times, if the option or plan for discharge is to go home, they require you to have in place a home health agency or home care agency. A caregiver or nurse to help with assistance to make sure the correct care is in place to continue recovery. For some it maybe either a nurse or caregiver, but in many cases, we have seen clients require both. This is all depends on the complexity of the surgery, illness or continued recovery needed for the client.
When having a nurse come in for visits, these tend to be through home health agencies that hire LPNs or RNs, and Physical Therapists. They are great for assisting with wound care, PT exercises, dispensing or assisting with medications, and doing the appreciate medical check ups for post recovery.
Hiring a caregiver in place through an agency is a great option because they are, all trained and certified home aides that will be able to assist with mobility, medication reminders. Bathing, transportation to appointments, run errands and special dietary issues. In addition, they will be able to provide caregivers the peace of mind knowing that their loved one is safely at home.