Why Doesn’t the System Work for Us?
We are the 24/7 provider, the advocate, problem-solver and error-catcher.
We do the work for the the health care system. We are the 24/7 provider, the advocate, problem-solver and error-catcher.
On a hospital discharge day, I know to take responsibility for making the discharge happen for my mom or dad. I have to follow up about discharge orders, the wheelchair, the meds.
When the doctor says he’ll order home health, I have to follow up to make sure he does order home health.
When I started to wonder when my parents would be ready for hospice, I pushed the doctor to order palliative care benefits for them so we would have the smoothest transition as possible to hospice. I mean, I had to push. (My mom is closer to needing hospice than my dad right now.)
When my dad received home health benefits, the home health agency was very unreliable in ordering ostomy supplies for my dad, causing him significant anxiety. I finally just ordered the supplies, paying with my dad’s credit card, for supplies that should have be covered by Medicare benefits.
I could go on and on. And, I know you have much worse stories than I do. I’d love for you to share them in our comments section, below.
If we do the work for the health care system, why doesn’t the system work for us?
(Image by klimkin from Pixabay)
Resources
A Plan for You After a Family Member’s Diagnosis: How do you manage after a family member’s diagnosis? Join us on the first Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET to talk it out, figure it out and plan it out.
Family Emergency Planning: Connect with a Certified Caregiving Consultant on the fourth Friday at 1 p.m. ET to create your plans for the “What ifs?”.
Join our Certified Family Care Manager training: When we take on the care of a family member, we often feel alone as we figure out how to manage and provide care. We’d love for you to enroll in our pilot training program to become a Certified Family Care Manager (CFCM). When you participate in our pilot, you receive our virtual training at the discounted price of $20 while giving us feedback to improve our training and your experience with our training.