Hospital stays are stressful enough, and although returning home should be a joyful experience, sometimes that’s a stressful experience, too. One of the biggest goals you and your senior might share after she’s discharged from the hospital is to avoid going back.
Make Sure You Understand the Release Instructions
Every patient gets something called release instructions before they leave the hospital. This is usually included in the discharge paperwork. If you or your senior are a little unsure about anything in the release instructions, make sure that you ask questions until you understand it all. These instructions could be the key to making sure that your elderly family member recovers well once she’s at home.
Be on the Lookout for Symptoms
It’s important that you’re alert for any unusual signs or symptoms once you get your senior home from the hospital. Depending on why she was in the hospital in the first place, she may have wounds or incisions to deal with and there may be pain involved, too. You’ll want to pay special attention to things like her temperature and whether she’s experiencing more severe pain than she did previously.
Follow up if Your Senior Says Something’s Wrong
Even if you’re not noticing something unusual or seeing things like an elevated temperature, your senior might feel as if something just isn’t right. It’s important that neither of you overlook or downplay those feelings. Ignoring that nagging feeling that something is wrong could mean that you both overlook something important. It’s worth at least a phone call to your senior’s doctor if she’s noticing anything at all that doesn’t feel as it should.
Bring in Someone with Experience
You may not be able to be with your senior as much as you want to be once she’s out of the hospital. It’s also possible that you feel a little unprepared for helping your senior with wound care or changing dressings. Home care providers can help with all of that and more. They can ease your mind quite a bit and help you to make sure you’re adhering to the release instructions as closely as you think you are.
No one wants your senior to return to the hospital, especially when she’s just left it. There’s a lot to keep up with to ensure that doesn’t happen, so it’s a good idea to get all the help that you can during that time.