In-Home Care Can Reduce Readmission With the Help of a Senior Care Agency

Family Caregiver  |  November 18, 2024

What Every Senior in North Vancouver and West Vancouver, BC Needs to Know About Reducing Hospital Readmission

Did you know that seniors who receive in-home care can reduce readmission? Did you know that hospitals face penalties for high rates of readmissions for specific diseases? As a result, doctors and other medical personnel are seeking ways to reduce the chance of seniors returning.

According to Kathleen Morris, Director of Health System Analysis and Emerging Issues at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI);

• New research shows 1 in 12 patients return within 30 days of being discharged from a Canadian hospital.
• This costs the health system an estimated $1.8 billion over 11 months.
• Hospital readmissions can be avoided if patients, families, caregivers, and hospital staff prepare ahead for the day of discharge.

There are many reasons seniors need to be readmitted to the hospital, but preventable causes are of interest. Research indicates that caregivers are critical in helping seniors overcome some of the main preventable causes of returning to the hospital.

Three Ways In-Home Care Can Reduce Readmission

#1 – Many seniors are unable to appropriately follow prescribed medication schedules

On average, seniors with chronic conditions fill 50 different prescriptions annually. It is not difficult to imagine how someone could get confused about newly prescribed medicines. Caregivers can remind seniors to take medications as prescribed and help seniors keep a list of those medications and dosages. 

#2 – Failing to follow up with the physician after a hospital discharge is also a main reason for hospital readmissions.

A full two-thirds of patients readmitted to the hospital could have avoided the trip with a doctor’s follow-up. However, for some, transportation difficulties and forgetting to make or keep appointments can prevent follow-up. Hospital staff can aid the senior by setting up appointments for the individual before discharge, and caregivers can help ensure that the senior gets to those appointments on time.

#3 – Having a discharge plan for the senior before he or she leaves the hospital can be crucial for recovery, but when a person is ill, it is difficult to focus on critical information.

Caregivers can make an impact when armed with the senior’s discharge plan. They can help the senior follow the plan and notify the family or other approved individuals when there are problems or changes with the senior.

They can also help explain the information or ensure that the appropriate persons are notified if the older individual has questions about his or her course of treatment. This takes the stress off of the senior so he or she can focus on recovery.

The Best Senior Home Assistance Care in North and West Vancouver is Comfort Keepers®

Our senior home care agency offers in-home care focusing on aging in place. Our services include; dementia care, end-of-life care, post-surgery care, and palliative care. Comfort Keepers can assist seniors with living transition services, personal care, companionship care, and more! 

Quality and Accredited Elderly Care: Happier, Healthier, and at Home with 24/7 Senior Care Opportunities!

Do you need a home care solution for yourself or a loved one? Have you been thinking about retirement homes and their alternatives as a solution? Comfort Keepers® enables seniors to maintain happy, healthy lives in the comfort of their own homes. In-home care services are available in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the surrounding areas.

Comfort Keepers® is a Senior Care Agency That Can Make a Difference with Interactive Caregiving™

Our in-home caregivers ensure our senior clients have the best quality of life. The Interactive Caregiving™ program ensures that a senior’s safety, nutrition, mental well-being, and everyday needs are met. This program brings joy and good health to each client’s home.

Comfort Keepers® North Vancouver and West Vancouver Can Help with In-Home Elderly Care Services!

If you are concerned about the health and well-being of a loved one we can help! Comfort Keepers offers 24-hour care and delivers top-quality and compassionate care for seniors.  We are dedicated to safety technology solutions that foster independence and enhance well-being.

Locally Owned and Operated Home Health Care Agency

Our care centers around companionship for seniors. Empathetic care originates from the soul and allows us to meet our client’s requirements. The seasoned in-home caregivers employed by Comfort Keepers are carefully chosen based on their empathetic qualities.  

Contact the Comfort Keepers® North Vancouver and West Vancouver office at (604) 998-8806 to learn more about our unique in-home care solutions for seniors.

Comfort Keepers is an Accredited Senior Care Agency in North and West Vancouver, BC

Comfort Keepers® North and West Vancouver accredited with Exemplary Standing with Accreditation Canada. Accreditation is an intensive process in which industry experts examine an organization’s processes, policies, and procedures against quality standards. To achieve accredited status, Comfort Keepers® met or exceeded the rigorous standards for Home Care companies, outlined by Accreditation Canada.

References

American Hospital Association. (September 2011). Examining the drivers of readmissions and reducing unnecessary readmissions for better patient care 2011 AHA Policy Research</em>. Retrieved from  http://www.aha.org/research/policy/2011.shtml.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (February 2013). Ten things you should know about care transitions. Retrieved from http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/toolkits/toolkits/2013/rwjf404086.

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