[loeideverre]

Hello Ladies and Gentlement,

The hospital is looking to discharge my mother tomorrow. I am feeling rushed. I sope with the social worker this morning and told her that before my mom is discharged I would like to be clear on what the discharge plans are for her, possibly arrange a meeting with her doctor. What I get, a phone call. The doctor basically tells me that she will be followed by a doctor there, that the Neuro team is no longer following her and that discharge plans will be tranfered from facility to facility. I know that once she is discharged how difficult it will be to get anything from the hospital. What are some things that I could take care of and what are some questions that I need to make sure are answered before she is discharged? She will be going to a Sub Acute rehab facility, have any of you been transfered from a hospital to sub acute? what was the discharge process like?

Thanks :-)

[AmbassadorLenny]

well the discharge process is a preatty simple process what thy will usually do at least this is what happen to me the o.t. will come to your house in order to asess the safty where your mother will be staying and probably make suggestions on what you could do to make it easy for her like make it handi cap friendly and they shoul talk to you to let you know what you may have to do for her and then once you understand just what you are going to do you will be ask to sign a release form that is saying that you understand and you agree to have your mother released in your care, and that is it, like i say don"t worry about it your mother hasalready been vhecked to see if she is totally ready so i am sure it is big deal so just relax and enjoy

[kathygrace]

Is she being admitted to sub acute rehab as inpatient or out? We went from hospital to acute rehab as inpatients (hubby was inpatient but I got to stay there, too, as it was 2 hours from home.) There was nothing to do in that case but sign the release because the rehab place took over everything, medications, therapy, etc... The acute rehab was an actual hospital stroke unit where they did intensive therapy pretty much all day except for lunch and a nap. It was wonderful and SO helpful to recovery. We both learned so much there... hopefully that is what is happening for her.

If she is being released from hospital to acute rehab as an outpatient, though, meaning she'll be going home, then you will probably have someone check out the home environment like Lenny said, and give you advice and suggestions. You also need to know what meds to take when, with or without food, do you have to give shots, what kind of diet, soft or regular food. Can she swallow without difficulty? Can she dress herself or will she need help? Are you able to provide that help? Same with toileting and bathing... and how to get to therapy. I wouldn't think they would just send her home without some training for family members, so I'm hoping you meant she's going to rehab as an inpatient and things will go well.

Wishing you well...

Kathy.

[kathygrace]

Also - if she's inpatient, she'll probably need comfy workout pants and t-shirts, a zippered sweatshirt or cardigan, rubber soled shoes, shampoo, lotion, toothbrush, things like that. You can usually bring photos from home to put on a bulletin board and make her "room" a little more personal. In our case, there were four beds to a large room with curtains around each bed. Hope this helps...

[savingthebrain]

It's unfortunate that the doctor or social worker hasn't updated you on what it will be like in the subacute facility. Often I find they're either too busy or just haven't developed the good habit of explaining things to family.

So how did it go? Anyhow, different subacute facilities have different rules, procedures and ways of doing things. It's best to follow your loved one during transfer. An admissions coordinator is often there to answer questions. And unless the subacute facility is part of the hospital (some hospitals have subacute divisions), it'll have a whole new set of staff: doctors, nurses, PT, OT, Speech therapists... patients are a lot more stable than in hospital, so expect a larger nurse to patient ratio

[merichsen]

What you may be thinking of as what we typically know as a hospital discharge with stroke patients is usually a transfer to another medical facility.
As stroke patients progress to a level where they are capable of handling a bit more aggressive therapy, they are generally transferred from hospitals to rehab facilities which specialize in addressing their therapeutic needs while still under a doctor and medical team's care.
As they further progress there and become ready for actual "discharge" to the home and family. The team lead by a case worker assesses the caregiver's ability to care for the patient, and does what is necessary to insure the proper accommodations are made, as well as providing instruction and addressing all of your concerns.

Maria