Hospital readmission can be a risky issue in an elderly adult’s life. This circumstance is defined as a person returning to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. While sometimes this return is necessary due to changes in their condition, increased problems, reactions to medications, and other situations, this is not always the case.
Each year, many elderly adults experience hospital readmission that is completely avoidable. These readmissions can put your parent at risk of a variety of issues including increased potential of contracting dangerous illnesses and infections such as pneumonia, possibility of developing delirium, a potentially very serious change in mental status and functioning that can dramatically impact current and ongoing health, and increased risk of injury such as falls.
Taking steps to reduce the chances of hospital readmission can be instrumental in protecting your parents health as they age in place. One valuable resource in helping you achieve this goal can be senior care.
Some ways a senior home care services provider can reduce the risk of hospital readmission for your aging parent include:
- Making sure your parent understands their medication, and giving them reminders so they take their medications when they are supposed to, and how they are supposed to in order to get the maximum benefit.
- Monitoring their condition to detect side effects, and helping your parent to understand which of these side effects is expected and normal, and which may be cause for alarm. Often an elderly adult ends up back in the hospital because they are concerned with side effects they think might be serious, when they are actually just expected effects of the medication.
- Encouraging them to get the rest they need to recover so that they can begin to heal and feel better. This can be accomplished through a variety of tasks such as assisting with dishes and laundry, meal preparation of healthy foods, and more. By allowing them to rest and conserve their energy, this senior care provider can help your parent move through their recovery without feeling bad enough to return to the hospital.
- Giving them companionship and emotional support that can reduce your parents need for validation, and give them a greater security. Frequently seniors return to the hospital because they feel acknowledged in the setting. A care provider who is there for your parent can help your senior feel more secure and competent moving through their recovery without having to consult the doctor again.
The services of a senior care provider can be just as varied and unique as your parent. Because the services are customizable, you and your parent can feel confident your senior will always have access to exactly what they need. A senior home care services provider can help them to manage their needs and challenges now, while also preparing them for the changes that may come.
As they experience more challenges, have greater needs, or develop other conditions, this care provider will be there for your parent to help them continue to pursue independence, activity, health, and well-being as they age in place.
Even if your senior loved one has always had a healthy heart, she still needs to pay attention to her heart health now. Maintaining heart health can be as simple as adopting some habits that can have far-reaching effects to other body systems, too.