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I’m in the hospital with my loved-one, now what?

Call an Aging Life Care Manager: 503.953.5827.

Our focus as Aging Life Care Managers is to help to ensure our clients are safe, independent in their living situation, and ultimately, enjoying life to the fullest. Our focus on each visit is to prevent injury, illness, and maximize each client’s potential to age-in-place. Occasionally, our clients need the services of urgent care and/or specialists provided by the hospital system. We accompany our clients at their bedside and inquire of the hospital staff on behalf of the client and/or his or her family.

Some of the inquiries we make include whether the client needs to be admitted.  A client can appear to be admitted but is actually placed into a designation called “Observation Status”. Under “Observation Status”, hospitals provide observation care for patients who are not well enough to go home, but not sick enough to be admitted. This care requires a doctor’s order and is considered an outpatient service.  The client is billed as if he or she is receiving services from the healthcare provider and/or an outpatient clinic. As Aging Life Care Managers, we offer to stay with our clients during their time in the hospital, continue to speak with our client’s healthcare providers, as well as their discharge planner and/or case manager to determine the best discharge plan.

Aging Life Care Managers can be helpful by providing information on the client’s home and any home modifications needed for safety. We discuss the support currently in place at their home and what would be needed for their return to ensure that all healthcare providers receive the correct communication and help to make this happen.

These questions are only some of the ways that we support our clients  and his or her family to ensure their health and safety, and eventual return home. So when your loved-one ends-up in the hospital, you’re not alone, call an Aging Life Care Manager.

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Written by Joyce Sjoberg, founder and owner of Aging Advisors PDX. Joyce is an Aging Life Care Manager with over 30 years of nursing experience caring for older adults and individuals with disabilities. She has experience in a variety of settings including; acute hospital care, home health and hospice, assisted living, and teaching and training caregivers. Joyce is interested in working with clients and/or families who need someone to manage the care of a loved one living at home or in a facility. She focuses on collaborating with other health care providers, caregivers who provide shift care in their home, and family members. [email protected] (503) 953-5827