Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband is in the hospital due to a fall and broken hip. He was operated on and is now in intensive physical therapy in the Inpatient Rehabilitation. He is in a lot of pain and I spoke to social worker there who told me they are trying to get him ready to be discharged in a few days. He can't really walk or do anything by himself yet. So what are the criteria for discharge? He is on Medicare and has been in the hospital for 8 days.
I was reading in another thread that the hospital cannot leave him in the wheelchair in the street, there must be a place for him to go to. Can someone please explain to me how this works. What if I can't take him home to take care of him?
You need to speak with the Social Worker...all hospitals have them. If you can't do the necessary lifting, turning, care, etc...they need to know that. He might need to go to a rehab nursing home, until he's able to be taken care of by you. Medicare has time limits on what they'll pay for...so talk to the social worker at the hospital.....tell them your concerns. Once is he "stable" medically, the hospital won't let him stay there.....but you need to find out what the options are.
If you can not take care of him, my advice is to tell everyone from the discharge social worker, to the doctors, to the therapists, to the nurses. Make it VERY clear that he is not coming home with you and you expect them to find an appropriate rehab facility for him.
I can't tell you how many times the hospital just "assumed" that I was "ready, willing and able" to completely care for my husband after a hospitalization. Of course, this was not after something as serious as a broken hip, but after hospitalizations where I needed to take off of work to drive my husband to out patient therapy for two or three weeks (as he was not allowed to drive). No one cared that it would be a financial difficulty to be without my salary as well as Hubby's salary during that time but he did not qualify for a rehab facility.
BTW, technically the hospital can just give a discharged patient bus money and a map to the closest homeless shelter or send them in a cab to a homeless shelter (this was confirmed by a hospital discharge social worker). But, in practical terms they rarely, rarely do something like that. And they certainly would not do that with someone recovering from a broken hip or someone who is medically fragile. So you really do not have worry about that.
Last edited by germaine2626; 12-15-2017 at 07:21 PM..
Medicare is required to allow you to appeal the discharge. The hospital should have given you a paper that says you have the right to refuse discharge if you don’t feel ready, or something to that effect. We actually refused discharge once with my mom and once with my MIL.
Medically stable is criteria for discharge. Him not being able to walk or care for himself means he will likely be transferred to a skilled nursing facility or a rehab center. A lot of insurance covers rehab (i.e. up to 100 days) after about three day visit in the hospital. PT/OT will let you know when he is ready for discharge home (hopefully before the limit runs out).
Medicare is required to allow you to appeal the discharge. The hospital should have given you a paper that says you have the right to refuse discharge if you don’t feel ready, or something to that effect. We actually refused discharge once with my mom and once with my MIL.
And, sometimes if you talk with the doctors in advance, before they officially write that he/she is discharged they may allow an extra day (or two) if the patient is borderline being medically able to be released. After the doctors actually submit the discharge paperwork all you can do is file a Medicare appeal of discharge.
Ok what happened after that is interesting. He (my husband) was admitted to hospital rehab. He was there for 20 days, then came home. Has home health care coming in. Since then I fell. I injured my knee, ankle and back. I went to hospital ER and they took x-rays etc. I could not walk. They discharged me and if I had read the posts here before that I would have applied what you all said. It was icy and freezing out but I could not walk. I told them I cannot walk or get into trailer. Finally they got an ambulance to take me home. I was on a stretcher and now have been in bed for three days. Can't do anything except maybe once a day go to toilet with great pain and trepidation. Cannot bathe. Hospital informed my PCP but PCP said he needs to see me before he can write prescription for home care. I told dr's office I cannot get out of trailer because of steps. These people must think we're kidding when we need help. I hardly ever go to dr. This is a new doctor for me, btw. He has not gotten back to me.
Ok what happened after that is interesting. He (my husband) was admitted to hospital rehab. He was there for 20 days, then came home. Has home health care coming in. Since then I fell. I injured my knee, ankle and back. I went to hospital ER and they took x-rays etc. I could not walk. They discharged me and if I had read the posts here before that I would have applied what you all said. It was icy and freezing out but I could not walk. I told them I cannot walk or get into trailer. Finally they got an ambulance to take me home. I was on a stretcher and now have been in bed for three days. Can't do anything except maybe once a day go to toilet with great pain and trepidation. Cannot bathe. Hospital informed my PCP but PCP said he needs to see me before he can write prescription for home care. I told dr's office I cannot get out of trailer because of steps. These people must think we're kidding when we need help. I hardly ever go to dr. This is a new doctor for me, btw. He has not gotten back to me.
I am so sorry to hear all you are going through! I wish I could offer up some wise words of advice. All I can send is an internet hug. I hope you find the help you need and both you and your husband heal quickly.
Ok what happened after that is interesting. He (my husband) was admitted to hospital rehab. He was there for 20 days, then came home. Has home health care coming in. Since then I fell. I injured my knee, ankle and back. I went to hospital ER and they took x-rays etc. I could not walk. They discharged me and if I had read the posts here before that I would have applied what you all said. It was icy and freezing out but I could not walk. I told them I cannot walk or get into trailer. Finally they got an ambulance to take me home. I was on a stretcher and now have been in bed for three days. Can't do anything except maybe once a day go to toilet with great pain and trepidation. Cannot bathe. Hospital informed my PCP but PCP said he needs to see me before he can write prescription for home care. I told dr's office I cannot get out of trailer because of steps. These people must think we're kidding when we need help. I hardly ever go to dr. This is a new doctor for me, btw. He has not gotten back to me.
If they discharged you that quickly, I'm assuming they didn't see any bone damage on the Xrays - so likely it's an extreme muscle strain/pull.
Did they send you home with any sort of Rx to assist?
I hate to offer advice, because not knowing the nature of your injury, it could be deleterious. If it is just a muscle strain/pull, being more active might actually help to alleviate the stiffness sooner.
But if it's a ligament pull/tear, etc.. then the advice would be different.
As far as getting in /out of your trailer, you can RENT ramps from many places that provide access solutions. It will not be cheap, but likely better than being trapped in your home.
If you don't have sufficient financial resources (no judgement, I more than understand) - there may be a charitable foundation in your area or county services on aging that could help to offset the cost of a ramp (either purchased, or rented). It is no good to have you and your husband trapped in your home. In case of fire or anything else, you need to be able to evacuate.
Best of luck to both of you. Sorry you fell, I hope you recover soon.
Can you call a social worker out to where you live? I would call anyone and everyone everywhere till I got clear answers. Call the hospital. Call your doctor's office. Call your elder care hotline. Call local home health agencies. Call call call. You may get five different answers but just keep following up till you get someone's attention. And be sure that everyone you talk to knows you are documenting their name, time and date and everything they're telling you.
Be sure you stress to them that your situation is UNSAFE.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
