Immediate Decisions
Most people tend to put off planning for the worst-case scenarios. People who don’t work in a field related to healthcare, emergency response, or estate planning often don’t realize how life can change in an instant. To ensure you can get treatment quickly in the event of an emergency, every adult should have a signed decision-maker document that identifies their Power of Attorney and Medical Power of Attorney. Without these documents in place, hospitals may be limited in the care they can provide until a determination is made regarding who has the authority to decide on a course of action.
One of the first decisions that must be made is who will provide care to the care receiver? If the care receiver is in the hospital, the Case Manager needs to know your discharge plans almost the minute you arrive at the hospital. Will you provide the patient’s care yourself? What type of equipment and supplies do you currently have at home and what else will you need? If the patient is coming home but you are not providing care, who is? Another family member? An agency? Are you hiring someone? Does training need to occur? When can this take place? How do you determine who will provide the care, and what training do they require?
Discharge planning begins on the day of admission, especially when a significant change is about to occur in the family’s way of life. Think of all the questions that need answers. If the care receiver is coming home, where is he staying? Can he get to his former room? Are doorways wide enough to allow access for wheelchairs and stretchers? Are there stairs leading to the front door? If the home has more than one floor, where is his bedroom, and how accessible is it? Will his bedroom need to be moved temporarily? Just a few of the possible changes to consider.
