Home Care Assistance After A Hospital or Rehab Stay
Posted on: June 25 2020
Recovering from a hospital stay takes time—and the older the patient is, the longer it can take them to get back to normal. It may be a relief to go home, but there’s no nurse available to help them at the push of a button.
During the recovery period, a relative or spouse might not be available to provide support. And if they are, they may not be able to offer the level of care to best help the senior.
“Without post-discharge home care, 20% of seniors end up back in hospital within 30 days.” (NCBI)
It’s not easy to rely on other people, especially when someone was fiercely independent before going into the hospital. 13 million seniors are hospitalized every year in the US, and over a third of discharges are 65+. Almost 20% of seniors are back in the hospital within 30 days of being discharged. One study found that without home care assistance following a hospital stay, older adults’ odds of being readmitted within 30 or 60 days doubled.
Some seniors still refuse post-hospital care, overestimating their strength and believing they’ll quickly regain independence. They’re actually putting themselves at risk of a “difficult, incomplete or slower-than-anticipated recovery”.
In fact, some people have more issues following hospitalization than they did before. Of those seniors who end up back in the hospital, the reason is often unrelated to the issue that admitted them in the first place. With a potentially compromised immune system, sleep deprivation, new medications, high stress and other complex developments, life immediately after discharge should be treated differently, even if it’s temporary. A home care professional can recognize warning signs or symptoms of other health issues that a family member may not.
“A home care professional can help with basic daily tasks during the healing process.”
Getting help at home shouldn’t be a squander to someone’s dignity. It’s not about creating a hospital environment; it’s simply basic daily support to make sure the person is safe and comfortable.
At Around the Clock Home Care, we can help seniors post-discharge with cleaning, cooking, bathing, administering medication, monitoring their health, and other tasks.
Post-hospital care can be a temporary or long-term solution for preventing falls, which are responsible for up to 15% of re-hospitalizations in the first month post-discharge. With Around the Clock Home Care we can greatly reduce risk for seniors–even if they don’t feel vulnerable.
To learn more about our home care services, call 405-222-6478.
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