Heading to the Emergency Room with Your Parent

By Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP | March 31, 2016 | Comments Off on Heading to the Emergency Room with Your Parent
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Elder Care in Somerset NJ

The need for your parent to visit the emergency room is not something that you want to encounter in your elder care journey with him. If you are like many family caregivers, however, this will Elder-Care-in-Somerset-NJhappen at least once in your care experience. Whether it is due to a fall, other type of injury, or serious illness, a trip to the emergency room can be stressful. Making sure that you handle each step of the process efficiently, however, is critical to ensuring that your parent gets the most benefit from this care.

This starts as you are heading to the emergency room and when you first arrive. Starting the experience with as much preparation as possible can reduce stress and simplify the entire process. Use these tips to help you handle heading to the emergency room with your elderly parent:

  • Gather the proper information. You will need information about your parent when you go the emergency room. Keeping a folder with this information readily accessible makes it easy to grab it when you leave so that you know you have it all with you. This information should include basic personal details such as full name, birthdate, Social Security number, and address, as well as any allergies, current medications, and current diagnoses. Make sure you also have her identification and her insurance card.
  • Stay calm when answering questions. If you are responsible for the intake when bringing your parent to the emergency room, make sure that you stay calm. Answer all of the questions thoroughly and carefully. The easier it is for the intake clerk to get all of the information she needs, the faster the process will be finished.
  • Keep your parent entertained. Unless there is a real and present life-threatening danger to your parent when you enter the emergency room, she will have to wait for care. Make this process less stressful for both of you by taking steps to keep her entertained. A simple paperback, pad and pencil, or puzzle book can make a tremendous difference.
  • Bring along an overnight kit. As much as you hope that your visit to the emergency room will be fast and simple, this is not always the case. You never know when the issue may be serious enough to warrant your parent having to remain overnight or even get admitted to the hospital. If this happens, you want your parent to be as comfortable as possible. Pack an overnight bag with a change of clothing, extra socks, favorite toiletry items, her glasses, snacks, and entertainment. This will make it easier to transition from the emergency room to the main hospital if this is necessary, and prevent the need for you to have to leave to get materials.
  • Fill in the blanks. Seniors tend to minimize symptoms when they are talking to doctors. They do not want to seem dramatic or be a “burden”. You, however, have heard the real story. Be sure to fill in any blanks that are in your parent’s report to the nurses or doctor so that they can get the full ideal of what is going on and give her the care she needs.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional elder care in Somerset, NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.

Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP
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