Nursing Home/Assisted Living: The Event
Some parents or aging relatives are proactive and decide to make the move to a retirement community or assisted living early in the aging process. Or they have put systems in place in their home for safety and emergencies. For many families, this is not the case. Parents have refused to discuss any long term planning. You realize the health of your loved one is declining and you feel helpless. You have talked to you are blue in the face and know you can only wait and hope nothing serious happens like a fall.
Then one day it happens. You get a call. Your loved one is in the hospital from an acute event whether a fall, stroke or cardiac event. Whatever it is, you have to drop everything and get to the hospital. If you are lucky, you live close. You push down the panic and get to the emergency room. From the minute you arrive at the ER, you know you have entered a new dimension in your life, one with no guidebooks or maps. Here is some advise to helping you get through the ER hospital experience.
1. If you are Health Proxy or have Power of Attorney, bring the papers. Make sure a copy gets put in the chart. This will will give you immediate access to information. You may need to sign consent forms for any procedures or surgeries. This will allow you to speak with insurance companies/medicare if necessary. Hopefully, you will have insurance details beforehand.
2. If the person is unable to fill a HIPAA form, you can tell the staff who has permission to get information. Do not let them tell you only one person is allowed. HIPAA regulations do not state the number of family members allowed to receive medical information. If you have any problems, contact either hospital relations or the compliance officer. You can also add people at any time.
3. Ask to speak with the attending doctor. If the hospital is local for the person, ask to have the primary provider or gerontologist to be contacted for an accurate medical history. You can call the primary care doctor and ask for input.
4. Provide the doctor with a medication list if possible.
5. For any procedures or medications, ask for information as to why it is being done or given. ER always seems like a beehive but don't let that intimidate you. Ask questions.
6. If the person is to be admitted, ask for the case manager. This person can be your greatest ally with the details of care and insurance. If there is no case manager, then YOU are it!
7. You will feel like you are in a daze from the shock of seeing a loved one in the ER. If there are other family members, make sure they are notified. It can help to call one person and ask them to make any other calls. Use whatever support you have in place for you. Just walking into a hospital is stressful. Don't forget to eat and drink fluids!
Next Blog I will talk about Hospitalization and Discharge planning.
Posted by HealthCare Whisperer at 6/10/2010 8:11 AM 
Categories: seniors, nursing home, assisted living, hospital
Tags: hospital seniors nursing home assisted living power of attorney healthcare proxy
Categories: seniors, nursing home, assisted living, hospital
Tags: hospital seniors nursing home assisted living power of attorney healthcare proxy
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