(Snippets from the frontline)
Transition from hospital to nursing home
Full-court press is a basketball term signifying an all-out effort to win a game.
The same applies when you are admitted to a hospital, sometimes to save your life: You are seen daily by your “attending” physician; doctor orders are expedited using computers; the ratio of nurse to patient can be 1:1 in the ICU, and 1:5 on the regular floor; and consulting speciality physicians guide and improve patient care.
Nowadays, a stay in an acute care hospital is accelerated especially for elder patients who are quickly triaged out into Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) – nursing homes. Many times they still teeter on the edge of poor health. This transition from a hospital eliminates key treatment not given in SNFs.
Once in a nursing home, your “attending” physician sees you once a month; computers are rarely used in patient care; orders are slow to be initiated; the ratio of nurse to patient is typically 1:20; and consulting specialty doctors don’t go to nursing homes.
Transitioning from an acute care hospital to a nursing home removes the ability for a full-court press.
You have to hope you don’t need one.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
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