VA Home Care – Avoiding Hospital Readmission is Critical for Recovering Veterans
It’s not easy to return home to an empty house after a lengthy stay in the hospital. For aging veterans who have suffered from a major health crisis, such as a heart attack, stroke, major surgery, cancer, or anything else, that transition home requires the right care.
Getting the Proper Care at Home
One of the most important things for a patient when they return home from the hospital is to get the proper level of care at home. If they don’t, if they don’t follow doctor’s orders, eat a healthy meal, get the right level of exercise, or take their medication, it can result in a hospital readmission.
Proper care at home means helping the individual do the right things for their health. For veterans, especially elderly veterans, they may have a tendency to be as independent as possible. This means they could reject help or never ask for it out of a sense of pride or because they are used to dealing with situations on their own.
A family member can be supportive, but a more effective home care solution would be a professional caregiver who has experience working with elderly individuals who are recovering from any number of physical ailments.
Why Proper Care is Important
A person who is discharged from the hospital after a heart attack, for example, is supposed to get some amount of exercise once they are healthy enough for it. However, most people end up believing heart attack patients should avoid any strenuous activity whatsoever.
Most doctors will recommend exercise regimens for the heart attack patient to help strengthen the muscles around the heart, the heart itself, and the rest of their body. When an elderly individual is sedentary for too long, their muscles begin to deteriorate much more rapidly than for somebody younger.
The right diet is also essential to making a recovery at home. Somebody who is not informed about proper care might not take the appropriate steps for themselves or for somebody else. Getting veterans home care after they are released from the hospital is a great way to maximize the chances they will make a full recovery.
Family members are often a great support system, but they may not have the experience or information that can be most beneficial. Supplementing family care with professional home care for veterans is one of the best ways to make a full recovery at home.
For more information and to learn about home care for veterans, contact Veteran’s Home Care at (888) 314-6075.
