Elder Care in Lansing MI
A trip to the emergency room with an elderly parent can be one of the most daunting experiences in your elder care journey. Knowing how to handle it effectively, however, can take away much of the stress and ensure that your senior has the best chances of recovering from what led him to the ER in the first place. While you want to make sure that you get your parent into the emergency room efficiently and be sure he gets the care that he needs, your responsibilities do not stop there. One of the most important tasks you will complete when your parent seeks care in an emergency room is making sure that you know everything that you need to know before you leave. Asking the right questions can help to ensure faster, more effective recovery and reduce the chances of potentially dangerous hospital readmission.
Some of the questions that you should be sure to ask before your parent leaves the emergency room include:
• What is the diagnosis? You might think that you know what led your parent into the emergency room. What you probably know, however, is actually the symptoms that led him there. Make sure that you know the actual diagnosis of what is wrong so that you can be fully informed and keep his health records up to date.
• What is the prognosis? In order to know how much care your parent needs and to be able to monitor his progress through his recovery, you need to know what to expect. Finding out about the prognosis will enable you to keep track of how he is moving through the stages of the condition. This can help to illuminate issues that he is having. It is also important after diagnoses of serious conditions that will require more extensive care and support.
• What type of care will he need? Find out well before your parent leaves the hospital what type of care he is going to need throughout his recovery. You do not want to get him home only to find that he needs more care than you can give. Finding this out well in advance also gives you the chance to hire home care provider and have him help with the transition from hospital to home care.
• What are his medications? Go over any prescriptions with the doctor and your parent. Make sure that your parent knows what he is taking, why he is taking it, and how he is supposed to take it. Ask about potential side effects and what you can do to alleviate those effects if they should arise. Also be sure that you find out about signs of potentially dangerous allergic reactions or other complications so that you know how to respond.
• How can he reduce his risk? If the condition that brought your parent to the emergency room increases his risk of other serious conditions, make sure that you understand this risk. Find out about what you can do in your elder care experience to reduce this risk and improve his overall health.
If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in Lansing, MI, please contact the caring staff at Seniors Helping Seniors of Lansing. Call today: 517-332-9953.