Recently, a friend's mother had to
spend a few days in the hospital after undergoing a minor
surgical procedure. As an added safety precaution, my friend
hired a private caregiver to keep an eye on her mother overnight.
I thought this was a great idea, not just for her mom's care
and comfort, but also for my friend's peace of mind.
According to Charles B. Inlander, consumer
advocate, president of the People's Medical Society and author
of Take This Book to the Hospital with You, visiting hours are
suggested by the hospital. A patient, however, has the right
to have someone in the hospital with him/her 24 hours a day,
even in the intensive care unit -- even though there are more
restrictions there, sometimes involving quarantine. He recommends
that you exercise this right. If a family member is unable to be
with you when you are hospitalized, hire a professional
caregiver to help out.
Inlander says that this is especially
important if the patient is frail and elderly, recovering
from a stroke or surgery or otherwise has trouble attending
to his own basic personal needs. With hospital staffing
stretched, having a caregiver in attendance helps ensure
that the patient is comfortable and his needs are met.
FINDING A CAREGIVER
How to find a good caregiver? If your
loved one already has a home health aide that you like and
trust, so much the better. You're all set. If not, ask your
physician, hospital social worker, county health department
or area office on the aging to recommend a reputable health-
care or nursing agency. You also can try word of mouth.
Once you have located an agency, questions
to ask include...
How long has the agency been in existence?
Is the agency licensed by the state?
Are the caregivers bonded and insured?
Can the agency provide references?
In Inlander's opinion, you are better
off with a caregiver who can assist with basic needs --
eating, washing, communication, getting to the bathroom and
reducing the risk for falls -- such as a home health aide.
If possible, and depending on the patient's needs, consider
hiring someone who has some medical understanding/training.
Then he can be on the lookout to ensure that the proper
medications are given at the proper times in the proper
amounts. With nearly 100,000 people dying each year from
medical errors in hospitals, you simply can not assume
accuracy on the part of the hospital staff.
That said, Inlander cautions that
the caregiver must function as your eyes and ears, not
as a replacement for hospital staffing. The caregiver's
job is to protect the patient, not to do the hospital's
job. He should be careful not to put the patient in the
middle of an uncomfortable -- not to say potentially
health-threatening -- power struggle that may interfere
with the hospital's ability to deliver appropriate care.
A private caregiver is merely a visitor and has no special
privileges or rights. He can inform the staff that something
is going wrong and, of course, call the family, but the
caregiver has no standing in the hospital and cannot
interfere with the normal delivery of care.
Depending on the qualifications of
the caregiver you hire, Inlander says that you can
expect the cost to be between $100 to $300 a day.
That's a relatively small price to pay for the extra
safety assurance and peace of mind.
Sources...
Charles B. Inlander, president, People's
Medical Society, Allentown, Pennsylvania, faculty lecturer,
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,
and author of Take This Book to the Hospital with You
( St. Martin's).
