Discharge to Home

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Recovering from a hospital stay can be challenging. The decision about where to continue that recovery after discharge is an essential part of a patient’s care plan, especially for adults aged 65 and older.

For many patients, returning to their home after a hospital stay offers recovery in a familiar environment, where getting back to the activities of daily living can offer a faster return to strength and peace of mind.

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Hospital Stays Impact Overall Health

For some older adults, even a short hospital stay can have a significant impact on many aspects of their health, including:

  • A sudden change in mental health (also known as delirium).
  • A decline in physical strength that’s equivalent to seven days for every one day spent in the hospital. 

Older adults who have a sudden change in their mental health status during a hospital stay may experience inattention, restlessness, disorientation, and incoherent thoughts and speech. 

These psychological changes can be caused by the acute illness itself, new medications, or recovery from anesthesia. The anxiety that some patients experience because they’re in an unfamiliar environment and out of their daily routine can also contribute to changes in mental health status. 

It is very likely that patients will see improvement in these symptoms once they return to their familiar home environment.

 

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When Discharge to Home is Best

The period of recovery after an older patient is discharged from the hospital can be a difficult, emotional time. 

Patients and their loved ones are faced with the often challenging decision of whether to return to home after a hospital stay, or to go to a skilled nursing or other type of care facility. 

For many patients, discharge to home offers the best opportunity for a more comfortable recovery and a faster return to normalcy. 

While at home, patients who experienced physical deconditioning in the hospital can regain strength sooner as they get back to a daily routine of cooking, bathing, household chores, and other activities that require them to be mobile and active. Their nutrition also tends to be better, as more of the foods that they like are available. 

For patients who have experienced psychological changes, returning home can offer immediate relief from the fear and anxiety that they faced during their hospital stay. 

 

Photo of senior man with a walker, and his wife at a door

Things to Consider

When you’re exploring the return-to-home option, there are many things to consider. Even after discharge from the hospital, the patient may require physical or occupational therapy, speech therapy, or medical equipment such as a bed, wheelchair, shower seat, or walker. 

An older adult who is returning home after a hospital stay will require a safe environment that’s free from tripping hazards and matches any reduced physical abilities. The patient and their family must also evaluate whether help with cooking, cleaning, bathing, wound care, medications, and the like, is needed. 

The key to a successful return to home is planning. There are many things that may influence your choice, and support from family, friends, and others in the community is important. 

For some patients with complex medical needs, discharge to a skilled nursing or long-term care facility may be the best option. Some patients may also face concerns with health insurance coverage, or the lack of a support system that can help ensure that they are safe in their home, able to take their medication as directed, and follow up with their physician. 

 

We’re Here to Help

The physical decline and mental health changes that result from a hospital stay can have lasting effects, so the multidisciplinary team at Penn Medicine Princeton Health begins evaluating each patient the moment that they’re admitted to Princeton Medical Center. 

Together with physicians and nurses, and experts in physical, occupational, and speech therapy, the case management team conducts a comprehensive health assessment. Members of the team also speak with the patient’s loved ones to learn more about their life outside the hospital, so they can recommend the best plan of care after a hospital stay. 

If recovering at home is determined to be the best option for the patient, working closely with the experts at Penn Medicine at Home, or another homecare agency of the patient’s choice, our team will provide guidance about the equipment and services that will be needed in the home, what may be covered by insurance, and what local resources may be available to help fill in the gaps. 

 

For more information about the Discharge Planning at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, please contact us at 609.853.6070.

 

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Penn Connects

Princeton Medical Center cares about your health and how you’re feeling at home.

Our Penn Connects program ensures that within 24 hours of discharge to home, every patient receives an automated phone call from Princeton Health to check on their health and progress.

Based on your responses during the call, a registered nurse may call you back to offer help and instructions.

For urgent issues or if you aren’t feeling well, please contact your doctor’s office. For emergencies, call 911.

 

Proudly supported by the Arnold and Katherine Snider Geriatric Endowment Fund.