What’s the System’s Back-Up for Us?
Lack of beds in long-term care facilities cause a delay in hospital discharge. What if burnt-out and overwhelmed family caregivers add to the delay?
Axios reported last month about the delay in discharging hospital patients because of the lack of beds in skilled nursing facilities. The article also references a letter that the American College of Emergency Physicians wrote to President Biden in November. (The letter is a must read.)
As family caregivers, we have long worried about a trip to the Emergency Room or a hospitalization for our carees. We’ve experienced the crowed ER hallways and have concerns about patient care because of hospital staffing shortages.
But, we’re also burnt out. We’re often caring for more than one family member with multiple chronic illnesses. We’re still trying to hold down jobs, stay healthy and be present in our other relationships.
What happens when something happens to us?
What happens if we have two or more family members hospitalized at the same time and simply cannot be available for the discharge of one of the family members? I think of a time in 2015 when my parents were both hospitalized at the same time. Luckily, they were both at the same hospital. I think of my dad’s discharge day, which my brother managed, while I stayed in my mom’s hospital room so I could be there when the doctor made rounds.
My brother was my back-up so my father’s discharge happened seamlessly, at least for the hospital system.
But my brother died in August 2021.
How many other family caregivers also lost their back-up?
How many other family caregivers can’t take any more time off to be available for a last minute discharge?
How many family caregivers can’t be available on discharge day when they get sick during their caree’s hospitalization because their depleted immune system just gives out?
How many other family caregivers manage the care of more than one and simply can’t leave one to be available on discharge day for another?
The hospital system has no back-up when a skilled nursing facility can’t take an admission.
The hospital systems also has no back-up when the family caregiver just can’t be available when the system says we must.
We’re all at a breaking point. So much focuses on the organizations in the system — like hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. We include focus on the Family Caregiver System, which holds up all the other systems.
Without us, the systems simply cannot function. We keep the systems moving which means we need to move to shore up support for the Family Caregiver System.
How do you manage discharge day? What challenges have you encountered to be available on discharge day? Please share your experiences in our comments section, below.
(Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay.)
Resources
Join our 36-Hour Christmas Chat to receive our good company.
Check out our newest level of training, Comfort Care Family Coach training, and enroll before our January 2 price increase.
Be of Service on January 16: Volunteer as a Caregiving Listener or Story-Teller