Planning for a loved one’s surgery and trying to figure out how to best prepare?
EasyLiving assists many seniors before, during and after a hospital stay or surgery. We have gathered together some of our best “senior care advice” on our blog (did you know you can subscribe to get new posts via email?), including these tips on managing when a loved one is hospitalized.
Four tips for a successful hospital stay:
- Bring essential items that will be needed during the hospital stay. To know what to bring (and what not to bring as well), we offer a free “hospital preparation/packing checklist”.
- Early communication is vital to set the expectations for the hospital stay. When a surgery or hospital stay is planned, ask a lot of questions and “do your homework” beforehand. Regardless, make contact early with the medical providers involved and ensure they have family contact information (and appropriate legal documents and privacy permissions). Find out how updates will be communicated.
- Whether a planned or unexpected hospital stay, begin planning for the transition time as soon as possible. If your loved one is having surgery, work together as a family to determine a plan–who can be there for the surgery, who can transport your loved one home and stay afterward to assist? If a family member cannot be present, consider hiring a home caregiver to assist until you are sure your loved one is well enough to manage independently. Home care companies often provide surgery or hospital discharge packages to help with transportation and other immediate needs.
- Keep good records. Keep notes and phone numbers of medical providers handy, so you can easily follow up with questions or concerns. Make notes about diagnoses, procedures and questions you wish to ask. Update your records so that you can provide updated health information to outside medical providers (i.e. new medications, diagnoses, procedures that were done, follow up appointments).
How can EasyLiving help? Contact us for more information on any of the following:
Home Health Aides for in-hospital support (“hospital sitters”) for added safety, including specially trained caregivers in Alzheimer’s/memory care
Transitional home care-Post-discharge home care support, 1st 24 hour package and more
Patient Advocacy-Geriatric Care Managers to help with navigating the medical system, individualized senior care advice and recommendations
