Four Tips to Get You Back on Your Feet After a Hospital Stay
Coming home after a hospital stay is always a great feeling. Whether your stay was anticipated and routine, or unplanned and complicated, there is no place like home to recuperate. Even if you brought all the comforts of home with you during your hospital stay, there’s nothing like the first night at home resting in your own bed, in the quiet of your own room, without the interrupted sleep due to nurse checks, hallway lights, and noisy monitors. However, American’s Health Rankings reports that adults 65
years and older covered by Medicare have a 30-day readmission rate greater than all other ages combined, regardless of insurance coverage. Hospital readmissions are not only costly, but they put the patient at a greater risk for infection. Recently, numerous studies have shown that most readmissions are preventable. If you’ve recently experienced a hospital stay or have a planned procedure that requires an in-patient stay, here are four tips to help you get back on your feet. Schedule Your Follow Up Appointment
Most doctors will recommend that you follow up with your primary care physician after a hospital stay. Even if you’re seeing your regular physician at the hospital, it’s important to schedule a follow up appointment with them. While some choose to skip the follow up appointment, it really is important. It allows your physician to check on your progress, reconcile medications, and make changes to your treatment plan so that you can continue to heal. Before leaving the hospital, schedule that appointment. That way it’s done, and it’s one less thing you must do when you get home. It’s also important to state that if you experience any unusual pain or discomfort that you do not have to wait until you follow up appointment to see your doctor. Make an appointment ASAP.
Familiarize Yourself with Your Discharge Instructions
Throughout your hospital stay, your medical team will be creating discharge instructions. This might include diet or fluid restrictions, exercise recommendations, outpatient therapy plans, bandage treatment, and/or prescription medication instructions. Upon discharge, a nurse will sit down with you to go over the plan, often printed on paper so that you can take this home with you. It’s often a lot of information covered in a short amount of time. Prior to discharge, ask to meet with the nurse and invite a family member or trusted friend to be a part of the conversation. Start this conversation day one of admission, so that you’re not caught off guard upon discharge. Ask questions about anything that you do not understand or want clarified.
Follow Your Discharge Plan Instructions
Once you are home, it can be tempting to do too much or too little. You might feel a surge of energy now that you’re not in the hospital environment. This doesn’t mean that you should deep clean your home or spend the entire day out running errands. You might feel completely drained, having had little sleep over the course of a few days. This doesn’t excuse you from moving or doing your at-home recommended exercises. Too much too soon or too little too often are both equations for failure. Instead, stick to the discharge plan. Take your prescribed medications at the right times, don’t miss a dose. Participate in outpatient or in-home therapy. Modify your diet. Whatever your discharge plans included, stick to the plan.
Accept Help
Finally, recovering well from any hospital stay is a team effort. Even if you feel great, you’re likely to experience moments of pain or fatigue. You need a support team in place to help you through those rough moments. Your support team might include a family member that’s present 24/7 for a while, a couple of friends that can drive you to follow up appointments, or a few friendly neighbors to care for your lawn or bring you your mail, until you’re back on your feet. You might need someone to run errands for you, pick up prescriptions for you, or bring you nutritious meals. You might just need a friendly face to keep you company for an hour or two, so that you feel encouraged and reinvigorated. However your support team is able to assist you, accept the help, knowing you would do the same for them if they were in your position.
Visiting Angels Southlake wants to be a part of your support team and post-hospital recovery plan. We understand that recovering from a major surgery or illness can be a complex task. We offer post-hospital transitional care to seniors in the Southlake and surrounding areas. Through our Ready-Set-Go Home program, you will receive in-home care and support from qualified caregivers as you continue to recover at home. This type of care plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of re-hospitalization. To learn more about our transitional services, please contact us today, and allow Visiting Angels Southlake to help get you back on your feet.