Post-hospital care is a range of services that helps your dad with his recovery at home. He may need post-hospital care after surgery, a severe illness like pneumonia, or injuries received in a fall that tore a muscle or fractured a bone. With this service, he’ll have skilled nurses helping him with everything from wound care to therapeutic services. Here are five things you need to know about post-hospital care services.
It Gets Him Home Faster
Your dad may find it hard to relax and get enough sleep in a hospital setting. The beeping machines, noises in the hallways or curtained areas, and other patients’ sounds all prove irritating.
When his medical team knows he’s going home to a supportive environment, they’re more likely to approve an early release. While you can always bring him home without their approval, you risk him worsening unless a post-hospital care plan is established.
It Speeds Up a Return to Normal Routines
When your dad has support from post-hospital care professionals, he’s more likely to do exactly what his surgeon or doctor recommended. Because of this, he’ll find his recovery goes faster. If he doesn’t listen or follow his doctor’s orders, he’s more likely to experience an infection. Pain may be increased, which can slow healing. Plus, he may pull his stitches or reinjure himself and require a longer healing period.
It Helps With Pain
A lot of people worry about taking too many pain medications and will wait until the pain is unbearable. That’s counterproductive as pain medications take time to work. If your dad is waiting until the last possible moment, it helps to have a nurse at his home to time his doses.
He may be on a prescription pain medication, an IV medication, or alternating doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen. No matter what your dad is taking, he can have a professional monitor his pain level, administer the medications he needs, and discuss changes to his medications if what he’s currently taking isn’t working.
It Reduces the Risk of Hospital Readmissions
Post-hospital care helps keep your dad from returning to the hospital. It’s a good way to help him heal or recover from an injury or illness without running into complications like secondary falls from mismanagement of medications and infections caused by improper wound care.
It Eases Your Dad’s Stress
After surgery for cancer or heart disease, a serious illness like a stroke, or a fall that resulted in injuries, your dad may be anxious and scared that it will happen again. That fear may keep him from wanting to get up and move around, which is exactly what his doctors said he shouldn’t do.
With post-hospital care, he has someone with him when he does get up. He has someone to monitor him and support him if he is dizzy or finds it hard to keep his balance.
Talk to his medical team about his needs once he’s home. Figure out where you can help him, and where his care needs are above your skill set. That’s where you need to talk to a specialist in post-hospital care and make the arrangements your dad needs.
