Returning Home From The Hospital
Hearing that your senior loved one will be returning home from the hospital, even after a short stay, is welcome news. However, you may have two conflicting emotions, thrilled they are coming home and stressed over how you’ll get everything in order without turning your life upside down!
Plus, you’ll likely have plenty of other questions:
- How many doctors need to sign off on their release?
- What time will they be discharged?
- Will it fit into your work schedule or do you need to take the day off?
- Will your loved one need help caring for themselves when they get home?
If only returning home from the hospital was easy! You may face challenges, but there are ways to cope and people who can help, even if you’re on a budget.
Engage Social Workers
Helping seniors, who are returning home from the hospital, is an important part of a social worker’s job. If your loved one needs medical equipment like a walker, wheelchair or bedside commode, they can provide suggestions on businesses that rent the devices or local government agencies that may loan them to you. Be sure to try multiple sources for cost comparison if you can’t find them free of charge.
They can also work together with the hospital staff to obtain important medical information. For example, a schedule of medications, foods that can be consumed, physical activities your loved can and can not do and even exercises that will aid their recovery will help you understand their ongoing needs.
Getting Your Loved One Home
If your loved one has multiple doctors that have to sign off on their discharge, it can be especially tricky to know exactly when they will be released. Home care agencies like Home and Hearth Caregivers provide senior transportation services that are available to pick up your loved one from the hospital and get them safely home and into bed if necessary. You can engage one of our professional caregivers to assist for just an hour or two, or for whatever amount of time you need to get your loved one settled in at home.
If you require handicapped accessible vehicles, there are special taxi services that you can contact. Special Needs Chicago, wheelchair transportation, provides Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV) throughout Chicago and the surrounding areas.
Assess Your Needs
You may not have trouble taking a day or two away from work or other obligations, to bring your loved one home from the hospital, but you’ll quickly have to decide if they need more assistance than you realistically have time to provide. There are many options for getting help, from family and friends taking turns, to temporary, respite or hourly care, or hiring a full-time live-in professional caregiver
It’s important to tune into your loved one’s specific needs and abilities. These abilities can literally change on a daily basis. Keep in mind that the needs of both you and the person under your care may increase or decrease depending on whether full or partial recovery is possible, or if your loved one has a declining health condition.
Depending on your circumstances and their condition, short-term professional care can be a great investment. Sometimes it can actually help speed recovery and allow life to return close to normal fairly quickly. A knowledgeable, experienced, and dedicated professional caregiver can not only provide the right physical assistance, but also emotional support that encourages your loved one to assume an active role in their recovery process.
If you think a family member may need long-term care, creative scheduling may allow you to get all the caregiving help you need at very little cost. Our caregiver services are flexible providing you with care options when family and friends aren’t available.
Or, if you need complete freedom, engaging a full-time caregiver may be more affordable than you think. It might even be covered by insurance.
Consider Your Options
Assessing your needs and understanding the available options will allow you to arrive at the best decision.
If you require assistance determining affordable services that fit your needs, we can help. We will do our very best to help you find cost effective solutions to whatever challenges you may now be suddenly facing.