Hospital-at-Home But Only with Breaks, Pay, Support and Training for Us
Join us to advocate that family caregivers receive pay, training, support and breaks through Hospital-at-Home programs.
During our first Caregiving Solutions MasterMind Group which took place in October, meeting attendees and I shared our reservations about Hospital-at-Home programs. We all agreed that the impact of bringing critical care home could really be detrimental to family caregivers. Who will pay, train, support and spell us when we provide critical care at home for our caree?
After my conversation about caregiving trauma this week with Donna Thomson, my concerns grew. We experience trauma during our caregiving experience because of all we witness — our caree’s medical emergencies, falls and declines. What support will be available for us when a caree experiences a significant medical event at home while receiving care through a Hospital-at-Home program?
On Thursday, National Nurses United released a press release “that condemns industry plans to maximize profit by sending patients home all alone, replacing 24/7 hands-on nursing care with technology.” Its release notes:
Not only does this program endanger the imminent safety and lives of patients, it completely undermines the central role registered nurses play in the hands-on care that patients need to safely heal and recover. The entire reason for being admitted into a hospital is to benefit from the 24/7 monitoring, assessment, and professional care that licensed registered nurses provide. Nurses, more than any other health care staff, spend the most time with patients. We reject Kaiser’s assertion that iPads, cameras, monitors, and the occasional visit by likely lesser-skilled and unlicensed personnel are in any way comparable to the skilled, expert nursing care and social emotional support we RNs provide every moment of every shift.
Without 24/7 RN staffing, family members will likely need to step in, creating stress and leaving patients attended to by laypeople. We are also acutely aware that what these programs will ultimately do is shift unpaid care work onto women inside the home, while taking away paid care work from a predominantly female RN workforce at the hospital.
National Nurses United echoes our concerns.
When we gather for our next Caregiving Solutions MasterMind group on November 17 at 1 p.m. ET, we’re going to continue the conversation about advocating for training, support, reimbursement and regular breaks for family caregivers through Hospital-at-Home programs. Please join us to add your voice to our work to ensure family caregivers don’t become the default unpaid 24/7 care provider when hospital care takes place at home.
We can raise awareness of our needs. We can ensure our needs are met. Join us to be the difference for family caregivers.
Updates
Register for our Caregiving Solutions MasterMind meeting on November 17 at 1 p.m. ET.
Deadline to nominate a caregiving book, advocate or TikTok channel for The Caring Awards is November 15.
Use our caregiving advocacy tool kit to contact your representatives to increase awareness of the need for caregiving support and help.
Tell us about your days as a family caregiver or former family caregiver.
Win when you join us for our November events, including The Caring Conference: Our Courageous Acts on November 12. Prizes include free enrollment in our Certified Caregiving Consultant training program.