After Your Hospital Stay
Courtesy TMC Home Health, Texoma Medical Center, Texoma LIVING WELL Magazine
When you’re facing surgery, don’t forget to plan for the days and months after your procedure. Here are some key steps.
• Ask in advance what you can expect after surgery. How are you likely to feel? How soon will you be able to go back to work, eat a normal diet, shower or bathe and resume other normal activities? Will you need any help at home?
• Create a safe, restful place at home to promote healing on your return. Prepare for your nutritional needs and obtain any special equipment you may require.
• Expect that you won’t be allowed to drive home from the hospital. Make plans for someone to give you a ride.
• If you’re likely to require home healthcare, find out in advance what your health insurance plan will cover.
• Ask friends or family members to be on call to help as needed upon your return.
• Have a friend or family member join you––if possible––to ask questions and take notes when you get your discharge instructions. These instructions may seem confusing and overwhelming, especially if you’re groggy after surgery.
• Write down the names and phone numbers of the doctors you should call if you have questions and any home care professionals who will be helping with your needs.
• Carefully follow the directions you receive for taking medications, tending to the surgical wound, responding to symptoms and so on.
• Keep follow-up appointments. Among hospital patients who ended up back in the hospital within a month of discharge, about half hadn’t seen the doctor for a follow-up visit, a study of Medicare patients showed.
Remember, the more you pay attention to the things you can control, the more in control you will feel — and the sooner you can get your life back to normal after surgery. TMC Home Health can work with you before, during or after your hospital stay to prepare for your return home.
Safe at Home
TMC Home Health strives to reduce readmissions to the hospital by monitoring patients after discharge. They help patients with serious conditions learn how to manage their health at home. The purpose of Home Health is to provide patients and their caregivers with education and support so they can thrive in their own environment. During in-home visits, patient vital signs, medication, diet and home safety are all monitored to help them get better.
The support and education provided by TMC Home Health during visits by nurses,
nurse aides, therapists and social workers is critical in helping to prevent hospital readmission. Studies have shown that patients with heart failure, heart attack and pneumonia are especially prone to hospital readmission within 30 days, which is both disruptive and disappointing to patients.* Home Health’s goal is to help people get back to their optimal level of functioning.
*Harvard Health Publications
For more information about TMC Home Health, call 903-416-5500.
Information is provided for educational purposes only, and is not intended to constitute medical advice or to be relied upon for the treatment of any particular condition. If you have concerns or questions about specific symptoms that may affect your health, please contact your healthcare provider. Physicians are on the medical staff of Texoma Medical Center, but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Texoma Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.
