Imagine a family member goes to the hospital for a routine outpatient procedure. During the visit, your loved one encounters some unexpected complications, like their blood pressure rising or the doctor discovers something else during the procedure, and the hospital decides to keep your family member overnight for additional testing and monitoring. While many might think this person has been admitted as an inpatient, this person may actually be put on “observation status.”
The distinction between inpatient versus observation status can have a significant impact. Financially, for patients on Medicare, they are considered outpatients when on observation status, meaning there may be greater copays and other uncovered out of pocket expenses. Further, since outpatient status is not considered a hospital admission, this means patients won’t qualify to go to a rehab facility following their hospital stay. Only those formally admitted for three overnights are covered by Medicare for follow up care in a skilled nursing facility. Yet, these patients who were put on observation status may still require support at home, especially since the first 48 hours after discharge from a hospital are critical to their safety and health. That’s where home care can make all the difference.
Regardless of status, Family & Nursing Care helps patients receive the crucial care they need as they transition home from the hospital. During the first 48 hours post discharge, when there is the most confusion and misunderstanding of needs and instructions and there are often delays in the start of Medicare or Medicaid services, there is a dramatic difference in successful transitioning between patients who utilize home care services and those who do not.
As a regional leader in providing access to compassionate and reliable home care services since 1968, Family & Nursing Care’s Hospital to Home program helps ease the transition for patients after a hospital stay in the following ways:
Family & Nursing Care is always willing and ready to help people even at a moment’s notice when they leave the hospital. With responsive and supportive staff and access to compassionate and reliable caregivers, Family & Nursing Care can truly make a positive difference in older adults’ lives while offering their families peace of mind.
With 75% of Family & Nursing Care clients needing in-home care within 48 hours, we pride ourselves on being nimble enough to get a caregiver in the door within that immediate timeframe. These caregivers can help in many ways, including:
The bottom line is regardless of whether a patient is on observation status or considered inpatient, when they are discharged from the hospital, Family & Nursing Care stands ready to provide the resources needed to help them recover in the comfort of their own home because when hospital readmission statistics are lowered, everyone benefits.
To learn more about how Family & Nursing Care can help clients with their transition home from the hospital, visit the Home Care Services page on our website.