Many questions come up when caring for older loved ones becomes an issue. Where can they go to receive the best care? Who will be the ones making these decisions? Where are suitable openings throughout the state and/or the region?
Then, there are other matters to consider. Are they receiving the right amount of care and attention? Are staffing attending to those needs? Are protocols in place when negative situations arise?
For those who are given the news from the community that their loved one will be discharged, that sets in motion other issues that are not easily answered, particularly in real time.
Paul Jones, owner and lead concierge of The Care Concierge Senior Living Advisors in North Smithfield, says he can help.
He recently published a guide to help those who are faced with the problem of figuring out what to do with someone who may be forced to leave their community, said Jones in a news release. The Real Hospital Discharge Survival Guide is an online, downloadable service that includes strategies, scripts and questions that anyone facing those scenarios should use to either slow down or eliminate the discharge. The guide offers advice on what to say or do, and not do, when confronted.
He said families who have elderly loved ones currently living in an assisted living community should purchase this book and get themselves acquainted.
“Having a family member in elder care can be stressful, without question,” Jones said. “Then, having it dropped on you that your loved one is being discharged and realizing that you have no time to plan can make matters worse. Nobody should have to go through this alone. With this Guide, they won’t need to.”
The guide was developed due to numerous complaints Jones said he and his staff have received from families over the years about being dropped into a decision-making process they aren’t ready for and don’t have the time to really explore. The guide provides scripts to communicate effectively with doctors and social workers, and offers safety protocols to prepare for a safe transition when going back home is inevitable.
The reasons why places will let someone go range from financial to medical. Sometimes, it can be behavioral, though there are other issues that accompany this. Whatever the reasoning, it creates an emergency for the impacted family.
Jones said the news hits most families hard.
“News of this type often comes as a surprise to families. They may see that their loved one is still struggling with either physical or cognitive symptoms and then get the news that they’re being discharged. Sometimes it is an insurance decision, sometimes it’s a medical decision, sometimes there’s no clear reason at all,” he said.
He added that, “Families always feel like they need or deserve more time to plan, especially when a loved one winds up in the hospital due to a surprise issue, such as an elopement, stroke, fall, or something else.”
Once a discharge decision is made, it usually requires the family to make a rapid, sometimes immediate, decision. Families are often given 24 hours or less to make a decision for where their loved one will go, or to otherwise arrange for their safe transition back home.
Enforcement is financial: once a discharge decision is made and insurance will no longer cover the hospital stay, the daily hospital rate can quickly saddle families with tens of thousands of dollars of medical debt.
Jones said families are understandably hit with so many emotions and few answers for the numerous issues that just suddenly happened to them.
“Families are at a loss over what they need to do next,” he said. “Though it can be difficult, they need to stay calm. There are resources available to them that The guide highlights and outlines that can help in this situation. Not every discharge can be handled the same way. The Guide can offer advice on how to best defuse a potential crisis.”
Jones noted that while the guide is branded with his company, it is not designed to be something pushing assisted living placement. Rather, it is to be used as a guide and advocate, but if families need some breathing room and aren’t ready to consider ALF (assisted living facilities) yet, then that’s OK, he said.
Jones said The Survival Guide will be available in a basic format and a deluxe version, which includes additional information and guidance. This is part of a larger library series coming out, which will include information about senior living, home care, and dementia care.
More details regarding The Survival Guide and other issues on services can be found by contacting Jones directly at 401-488-4935 or . Visit www.thecareconcierges.com.
