A Look at Discharge Planning for the Elderly Part II
The role of social workers and discharge planner is central to this process. A social worker will facilitate the bridge from hospital to home. He/she will help patients and their families deal with this difficult transition and help create a roadmap of what will be possible in the future. Their experience, skills, and sensitivity can help pinpoint the parameters of what will work best for a specific client from a holistic perspective.
During the process, social workers use their expertise to look at important questions in terms of a patient’s well being and the complexity of his or her situation. For example, a social worker may ask; Is live-in care required? How safe is the person to be home alone? Does he/she know how to call for help? Does he/she need help with medications? If home alone is the absolute plan, what are some services that can be put into place to ensure the safety of a patient? What if a patient falls? What if he/she can’t reach the phone? What if he/she can’t get help? What if he/she is not awake after a fall? Some people live with their family members and they’re home alone during the day. How many hours is that? If for example a relative leaves for work at 7:30 and he/she gets back at 4:30. Can home-care be arranged to come during those hours? Can the patient let home-care in? What equipment is needed to be put into place?
Specific components of a Discharge Plan can include:
- Spaces available at nearby facilities
- Appropriate tasks for family care givers
- An assessment of the need for a fulltime, live-in care giver
- Management of that full-time, live-in caregiver
- Appropriate tasks for family members
- Budgets
- Emergency alert technologies
- Government resources
- Equipment to make the home accessible for a patient
Add comment April 2nd, 2009
