Five Tips for Helping Your Senior Come Home from the Hospital
When it’s finally time for your senior to come home from the hospital, you might find yourself tied up in the details of what that might mean for her.
Make Sure You Understand the Discharge Instructions
Discharge instructions can be incredibly complicated. There may be a whole list of things your senior can and cannot do after she leaves the hospital. There may also be a variety of follow up appointments and additional tests that can also be intimidating. If you have questions, ask. The nurses and doctors want to help you understand what you need to know, but they have to know you’ve got questions.
Determine What’s Okay and What Isn’t
Certain activities and foods may be okay for your senior as soon as she goes home and others may not be for a while. There may also be some therapies or treatments that your senior will be able to do that help with these “dos and don’ts.” Again, if you aren’t sure, make sure that you ask questions.
Learn What Your Senior Needs to Know about New Medications
There may be new medications that your senior is suddenly taking or even changes to her existing medications. Some of this may be temporary, while others may be a more permanent change. Adhering to these medication changes may be scary, but it’s also a vital part of ensuring that your senior recovers well at home.
Ask if Any Medical Equipment Is Recommended
It’s possible your elderly family member may need some specific medical equipment at home, especially for mobility. These types of equipment might include a hospital bed, a wheelchair, or equipment to deliver medication, such as a nebulizer or an oxygen concentrator. These usually have to be ordered, often through the insurance company, so you need to know what your senior needs and how to get it.
Get Some Extra Help
If all of this sounds like a lot for you to deal with as a caregiver, it absolutely is. That’s why it can be a huge benefit to both you and your senior to bring in senior care services. They’ve done all of this before, so it’s not new to them. They can help you to decode what all of those seemingly contradictory instructions mean and ensure your elderly family member has the care she needs to stay out of the hospital once she’s home.
You don’t have to go through this trying time alone and confused. There’s help available to ease your senior’s transition home from the hospital.
If you are considering Senior Care Services in Perrysburg OH, please contact the caring staff at Med1Care. Located in Toledo and Findlay. Serving clients in all of northern Ohio including Bowling Green, Bryan, Bucyrus, Celina, Defiance, Findlay, Fremont, Kenton, Lima, Lorain, Mansfield, Marion, Mount Gilead, Napoleon, Norwalk, Ottawa, Paulding, Port Clinton, Sandusky, Tiffin, Toledo, Upper Sandusky, Van Wert, Wapakoneta, Wauseon and all nearby areas. Toledo 419.866.0555 | Findlay 419.422.0305
