Our bodies frequently become more susceptible to disease and injury as we age, necessitating medical care that may include hospital stays. The road to recovery following a hospital stay can be difficult and complicated for seniors. It involves more than just physical healing; it involves navigating a number of variables that may affect their well-being after discharge. It’s important to understand what factors may affect seniors’ recuperation following a hospital stay and strategies to ensure they have the post-hospital care they need to return to their regular lives more easily.
Recognizing the Obstacles
While each situation is different, there are some common obstacles that might arise as seniors transition from the hospital to home, putting an emphasis on the need for efficient post-hospital care. Some of those obstacles include the following:
- Physical Recuperation: The age-related decline in physical function may cause seniors to recover slowly. Muscle weakness, limited mobility, and frailty are examples of conditions that can slow down the healing process and raise the possibility of complications.
- Medical Complexity: Many seniors have several chronic illnesses, which makes it more difficult to manage their health both during and after hospital stays. A comprehensive approach is necessary to prevent medication errors, adverse reactions, and exacerbation of underlying health issues when coordinating care for these conditions.
- Cognitive Health: Dementia or cognitive decline can affect a senior’s capacity to comprehend discharge instructions, take prescription drugs, and adhere to treatment regimens. This makes following post-hospital care plans and practicing self-care difficult.
- Social Support: Managing daily tasks, getting follow-up appointment transportation, and overcoming feelings of loneliness or isolation during recovery can be challenging for seniors who live alone or don’t have a strong support network.
Providing Post-Hospital Supportive Care
Realizing the challenges above, it’s essential to ensure the post-hospital care plan addresses issues that might arise by including the following:
- Complete Discharge Planning: Hospitals should put in place comprehensive discharge planning procedures that include determining the senior’s needs, arranging with family members and neighborhood resources, giving precise directions for taking medication, scheduling follow-up visits, and receiving home care.
- Medication Management: Medication management strategies should be considered, including making the medication schedules easier to follow, using pill organizers or medication reminders, and performing medication reconciliation to reduce medication errors and increase adherence to recommended treatment plans. To help support seniors and loved ones, skilled nursing could be called in to perform these tasks.
- Home Health Services: Speaking of skilled nursing, having access to home health services can help seniors heal faster and lower their chance of returning to the hospital. These services include things like physical therapy, nursing care, and assistance with everyday living activities.
- Technologies for Health Solutions: Seniors and healthcare professionals can communicate more easily with the use of telemedicine, remote monitoring tools, and mobile health applications. This enables prompt interventions and proactive management of health problems.
A multimodal post-hospital care strategy that takes into account the physical, medical, cognitive, and social needs of seniors is necessary to support their recovery. This can be accomplished by following the strategies above and putting comprehensive discharge planning into practice, as well as encouraging collaboration between healthcare providers and caregivers.
Sources:
https://www.afcsnc.com/tips-techniques-senior-post-hospital-care-plans
https://caretechinc.com/navigating-post-hospital-care-a-guide-to-supporting-seniors-in-their-recovery
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9597142/
If you or an aging loved one is considering post-hospital care in Westmont, IL, please contact the caring staff at Suburban Home Care today at (630) 964-9000.
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