Plan Your Options for Rehab Discharge and Reduce Stress
Right at Home Offers a Complete Solution
When a loved one is in a rehab facility for health reasons, the most productive outcomes happen when active thinking and planning are done for discharge, well before the patient is actually discharged. There are a lot of moving parts involved to coordinate, to make a successful transition home. Many times the actual discharge comes up very fast, due to the parameters set by insurance companies and the improvement (or lack of) by the patient.
Consider the patient’s Healthcare directives, -and what they stated they want and how they want to live.
The discharge planning team are an important part of the puzzle, as well as your own research. Meet with the discharge planners continuously, rather than waiting for them to meet with you, as this will help keep you educated and up to date on condition and timing as much as possible, so you have the most amount of time you can have, to plan.
Know the functional and cognitive limitations of your loved one, as well as their prognosis for continued improvement. The PT and OT areas of the rehab will often help to evaluate the home for safety, as well as make recommendations for safety equipment, whether it be a walker, cane, wheelchair, shower bench, life alert, gait belt, commode, incontinence products, raised toilet seat, grab bars, even a hoyer or sit-to-stand lift. There are many other items that our clients have utilized (both by our recommendations, as well as finding these options by their own discovery) such as: a hand-held shower head, a bideau, safety items for the kitchen, ramps, stair chair, many kitchen safety conveniences, utensils that are easier to balance, and many more things. Arrange for as many of the products needed before your loved one goes home.
Consider where the patient is at in the disease process, and that often times, they improve when getting to their place in which they are comfortable – which for some, may be a new home, while for many will be their home they have been in before the incident. They just need more help in their home, as well as individual attention.
Consider the reality of time constraints when putting together family time to care for the individual at home. Develop the schedule of care within reason for long term success. Many families jump to support the individual initially but within 2 weeks, there is burnout and added stress, because they need to properly take on what they can handle longer term. This is where individuals look to hire a reputable Homecare agency to provide Supportive Living Services in the home. You loved one may or may not get therapy in their home. But doing your research, considering awards, services, reviews and recommendations of reputable homecare companies will help you get established with the appropriate level of support and care.It is live having a “customized assisted living” right in their own home.
Much like an assisted living, homecare services are private pay for the majority of individuals. If your loved one may have taken out a policy on long term care insurance, that is an insurance that would pay for homecare services, if they qualify by need.
Arrange the safest way to manage medications, as med-mishaps are the #1 reason for hospital admissions. If they are able to set up a med-planner on their own, have an “extra set” of eyes watching to assure safety in set up, so there is no confusion. Someone in the family could complete the set up, if your loved one is not able to because of cognitive or physical reasons. Otherwise, a caregiver can oversee this set up, but an RN has to complete the set up if your loved one is not able to because of cognitive or physical challenges. The caregiver can then cue your loved one to take their medications at the appropriate time.
When considering the support your loved one will need, consider transportation and help to things like: doctor’s appts., dental appts., hair apps., grocery shopping, church, activities outside the home in which they did previously. Right at Home Appleton/ Green Bay provides caregiving services that provide transportation. This provides the help and safety with your loved one, while being gone, as well as the support to spend the time with them, as well as upload any care notes about the visit to the Family Room, so that family can log in and see.
The ongoing care can be followed by the Family through the Family Room, which Right at Home provides online connection. Right at Home is part of a complete solution of partnering in the home, partnering with therapies, nursing services, as well as hospice companies, for the complete solution.
If someone you love is in need of care, contact us today.
