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Feb, 18, 2015
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Mom is coming home …now what?
We receive multiple calls on daily basis from daughters and sons asking the same question; can Mom continue to live alone? Or can my elder dad take care of her on his own?
Usually the answer we give is .. it depends. Every person is different, every health condition is different and every family is different. No one has a magical answer on how to determine if Mom needs help and if so how much help she needs. What we can offer is the next best thing; checklist of things you can do to help you determine what Mom needs.
The checklist was developed based on our experience and the expertise of our nurses, geriatric care manager and our very qualified and experienced caregivers. Here are some of the items in the checklist. For the complete list please fill the request form and we will email it to you free of charge.
Things to do while Mom is at the Hospital or Rehab Place
Before the discharge make sure that you have a discharge planning meeting with the Social worker or the Discharge planner
Make sure you ask for specific date and time of the discharge
Ask about whether Mom will need medical equipment
Home Evaluation
Remember that Mom most probably is coming home in a different physical shape than when she left. Counters might be too high for her to reach or comfortable enough for her to use
She might need grab bars in the bathroom to help her get into the shower, up from the toilet
If Mom is living in a two level house stairs might be too hard for her to climb so her bedroom might need to be moved downstairs or she might need a stair lift
Mental and Emotional State
A close attention should be paid to Mom emotional and mental state. Sometimes the experience of being in the hospital and/or rehab facility and then coming home could have a negative impact and could lead to depression or other behavioral conditions
At the first few days of being home Mom should not be left alone even if she looked, sounded fine. We advise that the children or a relative to be with her home. If that is not possible we recommend a caregiver to be present.
We hope that this blog post will help alleviate some of the stress that comes with the discharge process.
If you have any questions or would like to utilize our geriatric care management services please reach out to us via phone 708.459.6077 or by filling the contact us form. We are here to help you shoulder some of the responsibilities you have as a caregiver so you can get back to be a loved one whether you are daughter, son or a spouse and as Karl Lagerfeld said
“Don’t sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much there’s nothing else you can give “