These are the 12 questions you will want to consider before you are released from the hospital back to your home. They cover issues of accessibility, mobility, and the continued level of care you will need to help speed your recovery.
1. Who decides when I can return home?
While you are in the hospital, the medical staff considers your needs and decides to which setting you will be released. If you are able to recover without a lot of extra assistance, you are returned to your Home. In situations where more care is needed, a patient may be moved to a rehabilitation hospital (where intensive therapy is available) or to a skilled nursing facility (where some therapy is available).
2. How do I know if the rooms in my home will be accessible to me?
In planning for your release to your home, the home setting needs to be evaluated to determine which rooms are accessible and which are not. You may need for a therapist on staff to inspect your home for safety and suitability before you return there. For instance, the number of steps into the house is important to know and, also, if there is a second floor.
3. Will a wheelchair or a walker fit through the doors in my house?
If you are using a wheelchair, the width of the chair needs to be measured against the width of the doorways to the rooms that you will use. Measure each doorway. Even though you may have a single-story home, you may find that there are some rooms you cannot get to if the doorframes are not wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. Even if your whole house is not accessible to you, you may be able to use the rooms that you need, such as the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom.
4. What changes in my house do I need to make to use a wheelchair or a walker?
Have someone do a walk-through to see if there are any obstructions that would impede getting from room to room. Check for throw rugs or mats that would slow down a wheelchair or a walker, or that might make it a little more difficult if you are still a bit unsteady on your feet. If you are using a wheelchair, allow enough room between the bed and the wall so that the chair can be next to the bed to assist you in getting in and out of bed.
5. Will my bathroom need to be modified?
If the bathroom is not wheelchair accessible, you may need help from someone in order for you to walk from the doorway to the toilet, or you may need to rent a commode chair and place it in another area of the house until you are steadier on your feet. It may be that the bathroom is accessible, but you need a raised toilet seat and grab bars next to the toilet so you can get off the toilet safely. You may need a chair for inside your bathtub or shower. Find out if you will be able to reach the bathroom and kitchen sinks in the house or if you will need assistance.
6. Will I need a hospital bed for use at home?
If your bedrooms are on the second floor, you may need to use a hospital bed on the first floor until such time that your mobility improves and you can handle the stairs. The hospital bed may be a more comfortable choice since its height can be adjusted for ease in getting in and out of the bed.
7. Will I be able to use my telephone and television?
You will need to be able to reach the telephone, so you may need a longer cord and a lower table for the telephone. The television needs to be in a location where you can watch it, so it may need to be moved and you may want to find an easy to use (larger numbers and buttons) remote control.
8. What kind of activities can I continue to do?
There are other issues having to do with mobility and accessibility that will depend on your particular lifestyle, so think of what a typical week or month would be like for you. Figure out who will be able to help you get to appointments, if necessary. If you attend religious services and you need help getting there, find a friend who will pick you up and bring you back.
9. What if I need extra help with bathing, for instance?
Depending on your needs, you may have someone stay with you to provide help. A home health care aide may be available through home health services to come in and help with bathing, grooming, and dressing. Find out the extent of your insurance coverage for these services. You may also receive physical, occupational and/or speech therapy through the home health agency.
10. Can I get someone to help me prepare meals?
In addition, you may need help with chores, meal preparation, and shopping. You will need to find out who can help you with these tasks. In some areas, your county may have in-home help available if you meet the income requirements. The discharge planner at your hospital will know about resources available in your local community. Also, you may be eligible for Meals-on-Wheels for a period of time: confirm how many meals per day and for how many days you can receive this service. Please remember, Meals-on-Wheels is usually an out-of-pocket charge, meaning you pay for this service without reimbursement from your insurance company.
11. My finances are a mess. What can I do?
You will need to take care of your financial issues and money management. If you are not able to handle the mail, paying bills, and banking, find someone who can help you. It may be a family member, a friend, an attorney, or other fiduciary that you choose.
12. Will I be able to keep my pets at home?
If you have pets—dogs and cats are especially good for promoting one’s well-being and recovery—be sure to have details available regarding your veterinarian, boarding facility, and who will pet-sit in an emergency or as a favor. Your favorite pets by your side may be the best part of being home. Be especially careful navigating around your house if you are using a wheelchair or walker and your pets tends to get underfoot—this could cause an injury to you or to your beloved Pets. Also, you need to store the pet Food where you can reach it if your mobility is impaired.
Remember, planning ahead will made your recovery go more smoothly and you will experience less frustration if you have planned for your particular needs and restrictions. Your home may not be fully accessible to you right away, but with modifications and planning, you may have the comfort you need to help you feel much better.
anonymous
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/12-important-questions-home-from-the-hospital-615963.html
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#1 by luvin mama of rebecca! on May 10, 2010 - 5:01 am
quick early home delivery(important story and questions)?
this is about a friend…it happened to her 2 times!!! she was 36 weeks 1 day for the first one, and was 34 weeks and 6 days with her second baby. she was sitting around her home(with her first pregnancy) not doing anything to strenuous, and started feeling these sharp tightening pains in her lower abdomen, and felt kinda sick, then about 10minutes later, was having sharp pains in her cervix, so she decided to go to the ER to get checked out, they sent her to the OB floor and monitered her for an hour, then said well your contractions arent EXACTLY spaced and your only dialated one centameter, so they told her to go home(this was at 9pm) well she went home and about a half hour after she got home, the contractions were getting worse, but she said the cervix pain was very sharp like it was tearing…so she called the OB floor and told them what was going on, and they told her to rest, that she was just seen and if it doesnt get batter by tomorow afternoon, to see her doctor…well she finally fell asleep around 11pm, and woke around 2am in the morning in severe pain, and felt like she was going to poop herself and got up from the bed quickly so she could make it and her water gushed out from underneath her, and she fell to the floor, and got herself to the bathroom but felt like the babies head was right there, and grabbed her cell phone and called 911 about it….she reached down and felt the babies head right their, and pushed briefly in one big contraction and the baby slid right out, the operator told her what to do and everything untill the emergency team arrived, and her baby weighed 5lbs 1oz….I think this is outragious and told her she should have been able to sue the hospital for this, and putting her and the baby in this deadly situation….but all was said is that she was not showing this labor progression when she was released from the hospital….a bunch of crap!!!…..anyways life goes on and about a year after her son was born, she found out she was pregnant again…ok so now she is 34 weeks 6 days pregnant with her daughter, and she didnt feel any cramps but felt the cervix pain again, so she was worried and went to the hospital due to her concerns from the previous birth experience,(this time her husband was home, he was in the military and gone out of home for the birth of the first born baby) and she was 2 cm dialated but having no contractions that they could pick up on the scan…so she stayed their for another 2 hours and the cervix pain was still there, but they didnt see any progerssion in the dialation, maybe a tiny tad, but not to the 3cm yet…so they told her to go home and rest and see if she can hang in there a lil longer for at least another week or 2…well excuse me women cant keep a baby in them…when nature calls its time. no stopping it!!! so she goes home…its about 2pm and she tried laying down, about an hour later, gets up to pee and her water breaks on the walk to the bathroom, she yells to her husband to call 911 and terrified that yep…im doing this at home again with no doctor AGAIN…even earlier….and as before, the baby just came right out from an involuntary push in a contraction….weighing in at 4 lbs 2oz…..AND SHE IS NOW HAVING ANOTHER BABY(boy 31wks)…and she is thinking of traveling to a different area to have this baby, but the issue is is that is is 3 hrs away from her home(cant just move, owns her own home with her husband!) and if she did plan to travel to the other hospital, i think she should move down closer to that area for this remander of time in a appartment till the baby comes, because given the last experiences with the births of her children, i dont think she would make it there in time, and be on the road in the middle of nowhere before the hospital is availible…any ideas, or anyone else go through this sort of thing??? any information would be helpful!! thank you!
is there anymore that she can do to prevent her from having preterm labor?? i mean she is pretty much been on bedrest for the other pregnancies and this one at the end, so it doesnt happen, and it did still, so is there more she can do??
#2 by darlene r on May 10, 2010 - 10:03 am
given her short time from onset to delivery, she be next door to the hospital. glad the babies are healthy anyway
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#3 by arittmann06 on May 10, 2010 - 10:05 am
If I were your friend I would recommend she make a plan with her doctor that she stay in the hospital once she feels the pain or that the doctor be contacted before she is sent home because her doctor knows her history better than the nurses or doctor on call at the hospital.
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