How to Keep Mom Out of a Nursing Home in Anchorage, AK After a Hospital Stay

Think about this possibility: your 90-year-old mother, who lives in her own home alone, fell recently, cracked her pelvis, and is being released from Alaska Regional Hospital today. Leafing through her discharge papers reveals the need for medications, physical therapy, medical follow-up in several weeks, and a number of symptoms to watch for that would warrant a return to the E/R. 

While working 40+ hours per week, and with three children to care for, is it feasible that you can also help her with her recovery at home versus having her move into a nursing home in Anchorage, AK, making sure she follows the medical orders and is protected from an additional tumble? More and more, family members are taking on the role of caregiver for their elderly loved ones – as many as 44 million and growing, according to the AARP. And after a hospital stay, the caregiving typically needs to be more intense in order to keep your loved one safe and prevent another trip to the E/R. Check out these bits of advice to help adult children keep their elderly family members safer during recovery after a hospital stay:

• Investigate to get more information. Don’t be afraid to ask your loved one’s medical team as many questions as necessary to make sure you know how to provide the very best care, including what symptoms to watch for and who to call for help.
• Don't neglect your own care. It can be stressful and emotional providing care for a loved one while managing all of your other duties as well! Be sure to take time for relaxing and enjoyable activities, get plenty of rest, and eat a balanced diet.
• Network with others. Family members typically feel they have a responsibility to provide all of their loved one's care without outside help in order to keep their loved one out of a nursing home in Anchorage, AK, but it’s in both your and your loved one's best interests to have a list of resources on hand to help: friends, extended family, neighbors, even a caregiving support group.