An Aging Parent Is Set to Be Discharged from the Hospital: Now What? Home Health Care Is the Answer
It can be great news when an aging parent, grandparent, or other loved one is set to be discharged from the hospital. Being in the hospital can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety for everyone, including that senior. Yet, just because he or she is going to be discharged from the hospital, that doesn’t mean they can simply return home and everything will go back to normal.
They may require home health care. Many families simply don’t know much about home health care options. They often confuse it with generalized home care, such as an aide assisting with bathing, toileting, and other basic tasks of everyday life.
What does home health care offer?
A home health care provider is basically a nurse, often referred to as a visiting nurse. This person should be able to administer medications, check vital stats, and perform other medically necessary services for a person in the comfort of their home.
When an aging senior is being discharged from the hospital, they may have to go through a number of follow-up appointments, check ins, or even physical therapy.
While a visiting nurse is not specifically a physical therapist (that would be a different medical professional who the senior may have to visit or have come to their home), a home health care aide will be able to check vital stats, such as temperature, blood pressure, and perhaps even glucose levels.
A home health care provider can also check wound dressings, change them as needed, and administer medications or change an IV drip.
Depending on the reason an elderly person was hospitalized, they may face several weeks or even some months of recovery. Oftentimes, these patients are transferred to a nursing home, but with the support of experienced home health care providers, they have the option in many cases to return home, so long as it is a safe environment for them to be.
The benefits of being home.
There are tremendous physical and emotional benefits for aging seniors to remain home while recovering following a hospitalization. Being surrounded by things of comfort, familiarity, and having their own space is tremendously beneficial.
Yet, there are various challenges that need to be addressed. You may feel a great sense of relief that this aging parent or other loved one is about to be discharged from the hospital, but understand just how important home health care is for recovery.
If you are considering Home Health Aide Training in Marion OH, please contact the caring staff at Med1Care. Located in Toledo and Findlay. Serving clients in all of northern Ohio including Bowling Green, Bryan, Bucyrus, Celina, Defiance, Findlay, Fremont, Kenton, Lima, Lorain, Mansfield, Marion, Mount Gilead, Napoleon, Norwalk, Ottawa, Paulding, Port Clinton, Sandusky, Tiffin, Toledo, Upper Sandusky, Van Wert, Wapakoneta, Wauseon and all nearby areas. Toledo 419.866.0555 | Findlay 419.422.0305
