How Care Can Help Prevent Hospital Readmission
December 22, 2017
Hospital readmission can be a serious issue for your elderly adult. Going to the hospital frequently exposes your parent to a wide variety of germs that can lead to infection and illness, puts them at risk of falls and other injuries, and can even put them at risk of suffering delirium. As a family caregiver, it is important that you take steps to reduce the risk that your parent will return to the hospital shortly after a visit, and one valuable way that you can do that is with home care.
Some ways that home care can help prevent hospital readmission include:
-Supporting medication compliance to ensure that your aging parent is taking their medications when they are supposed to and how they are supposed to. This is critical for them getting the most benefit from their prescriptions and for helping to reduce the risk of complications.
-Encouraging your parent to follow through with any guidelines or restrictions that the doctor has given that will help your parent cope with the issue that led them to go to the hospital in the first place, and that will keep their body healthier and stronger overall.
-Providing companionship and emotional support that will reduce your parent’s anxiety and help them to feel acknowledged and understood. Often it is feelings of fear, anxiety, loneliness, isolation, and as though they do not know how to properly handle their challenges and limitations that bring a senior back to the hospital. Having someone there with them to provide that valuable support and encouragement can help your parent to not feel this way and be better prepared to stay at home for care and management efforts.
What is the effect on you?
Being a family caregiver for an aging adult can be extremely challenging and stressful. This can be especially true if you are a member of the sandwich generation caring for both your children and your parents, if you live at a distance from your parent and are not able to be with them as frequently as you would like to be, or you have your own challenges in limitations that keep you from giving them the care that they need on a consistent basis. if you are dealing with these challenges, now may be the ideal time for you to start home care for your parents.
An elder care provider can step in to provide care when you are not able to, handle specific care tasks that you are uncomfortable with or not able to handle effectively, give your parent more companionship, or simply to encourage a more active and fulfilling life as they age in place. This is not only extremely beneficial for your parent, but can ease your stress and help you to devote your time, energy, effort, and resources in the best way possible.