Not sure if I can keep DH safe

Brokenhearted in Illinois

i would love to hear how others handle- DH was already shuffling , gait imbalance. Etc. after two days in the hospital er her is severely weakened. Not eligible for a rehab facility, the case worker ordered a bed for the first floor of our townhouse and ordered in home physical therapy. My question is is this does the home therapy improve mobility ? Unless it has a dramatic effect, I do not see how I can keep him safe while sleeping on another floor. Appreciate others thoughts and ideas.

M1

Gosh that's hard. Have you asked about hospice? Is there perhaps an inpatient hospice facility? Otherwise it sounds like both of you are going to have to sleep on the first floor. I can't imagine physical therapy is going to make one whit of difference at this point.....

SSHarkey

Oh I do understand your concerns! This isn’t a good solution. I ran into a similar situation just recently with my brother. He was in the hospital, but according to his insurance he didn’t qualify for rehab because he could “walk without assistance.” But he’s a diabetic and he couldn’t understand his new insulin routine. They said home health would show him how. Problem was home health didn’t show up until 48 hours later. By then he was hypoglycemic and had fallen. Home health refused to serve him, saying he needed to be in the hospital. Back to the ER, who then call me to say he doesn’t need to be there… Round and round we go, until I ask if he can go to rehab via private pay. Well yes! By this time I’m really ticked off. Sometimes I just want to throw up my hands and tell somebody off. It’s no longer about patient care. It’s about spending the least amount of money on the patient as possible.

M1

I also think you are entitled to tell the hospital that he will not be safe at home. They can't discharge him if you say that.

ImMaggieMae

My husband has had problems with mobility and balance in the past 6 months. He can no longer climb the long staircase easily to our upstairs bedroom and has collapsed a couple times when he got to the top. I ended up renting a hospital bed that I pay for, since he needs to have his head elevated when he’s sleeping. I sleep downstairs on the sofa a foot or so away from him. In addition to the rail on the bed, I put a kitchen chair about halfway down with a plastic container under one of the rungs that will tip over and alert me if he tries to get out of bed. The doors in the room are set to ‘instant on’ with our security system. Not ideal, but it works. We live on the first floor now. Fortunately we have a full bath downstairs. It’s not as big as the one upstairs, but it works. Sleeping on the sofa for the past 4 months is a pain, but it is what it is.

An ER visit after a lift assist triggered some Home Health assistance for a few weeks. The physical therapist was wonderful and my husband liked her and was very cooperative. She had lots of good ideas and suggestions regarding mobility exercises that I hadn’t thought of before. Unfortunately, she was only authorized for twice a week for about 3 weeks. Medicare limits the amount of time, especially when in home visits are needed. It was helpful, but I still have to be close by just in case. I purchased a walker and a transport chair to use if needed. We haven’t had to use the transport chair, but occasionally have to use the walker. Broken-hearted, the PT was very helpful but not drastically so.

Nowhere

Sadly, your husband in his current reality will be unsafe wherever he ends up. He’s probably most safe under your nose as residents and patients fall in staffed facilities, I think even more often than under a spouses attentive watch, as the staffing is not adequate in most institutions and they cannot restrain chemically or physically. I would imagine they’d have to hire a personal aide in order to contain him to his bed/room.

I’d share what M1states above- that you cannot keep him safe at home, especially if you’re bringing him home without support.

ImMaggieMae

Years ago, a neighbor ended up hiring a caregiver to stay with her mother at the MC because they required it once she became a fall risk. The MC didn’t have adequate staffing to watch her all the time.