By Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC
Imagine a frail old woman alone in a hospital bed. She does not see well. She does not hear well. She does not feel well. She does not know exactly where she is or even why she is there. She is hooked up to beeping monitors. They are taking blood samples for testing. Bright lights are shining in her eyes so she can’t sleep. She is dressed in a thin hospital gown, covered with an even thinner hospital blanket and she is cold.
She is being barraged with questions many of which she is too distraught to answer. Questions come from doctors, from nurses, from residents, and from the social workers.
“Do you know where you are?”
“Do you know why you are here?”
“Who is our President?” “What year is this?”
“Do you have pain?” “Where?”
“How long have you had this pain?”
“When did it start?”
“Have you had this pain before?”
“What medications do you take?”
“Do you have any allergies?”
“Do you have family?”
“Should we call them?”
“Where do you live?” “Who will take care of you?”
And the questions go on and on, often repeatedly. The answers are seldom passed on in full to the next department or even to the next person attending to the patient.
The old woman is tired, fearful, and confused. She desperately needs an Advocate who can calm her, support her, give the needed information to the medical staff and maybe even get her a warm blanket!
A Geriatric Care Manager is just such an Advocate. We stay with our clients in the ER. We visit them daily in the hospital. We arrange for aides to sit with them if necessary. We are in at the first step of the discharge plan. All this is done to insure that the hospital stay and after-care are as organized, kind and effective as can be.
If a loving family member cannot attend to the hospitalized elder, find a seasoned Geriatric Care Manager who can. She will be your eyes and ears, making the hospital stay as smooth as possible.
Joan Blumenfeld is a Geriatric Care Manager based in Fairfield County, Connecticut
