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Jan. 18th, 2007
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bethr
my 102 year old great-aunt Leah
Jan. 18th, 2007 07:37 pmMy parents are vacationing in Vietnam, and I am the next-of-kin responsible for health decisions for my 102 year old great-aunt Leah who has senile dementia and lives at home with 24 hour home care. Back in December one of her home care workers moved her inappropriately and broke her left femur. She was sent home from the hospital with her leg in a splint and a dressing on a wound at the site of the break. For some reason my parents left instructions that Leah was not to be hospitalized, but yesterday I had to violate those instructions. Although a nurse visits every day to treat her bed sores it turns out no one had changed the dressing on her wound!
On Wednesday morning the home care MD examined Leah & found that the dressing on her leg wound had not been changed since her return from the hospital on 12/11 and appeared to be infected. He said the condition could not be treated at home, and I authorized him to take her to the hospital for treatment. At 3:30 that afternoon the ER MD called to say that the infection was severe and that Leah would require IV antibiotics which I authorized. I also spoke to the ER orthopedist, and he agreed that she is not a candidate for surgery. At half past midnight this morning the MD on Leah's ward called to tell me that Leah had just been admitted and asked if I knew what medications she takes. I told her I did not know but gave her Leah's primary home care worker's home phone number. The home care worker brought a list of meds to the hospital yesterday but the ER did not transmit this to the ward upstairs, so the home care worker had to go to Leah's apartment, write a list of the meds and bring it back to the hospital. Late this morning the hospital social worker called, and I also spoke to the nurse practitioner on Leah's floor. Leah will stay at Montefiore Hospital through the weekend and will then be sent home on home hospice care. If the antibiotics appear to be working (reduction in white blood cell count) Leah will continue with the IV antibiotics at home for six weeks. If the antibiotics do not appear to be working she'll be sent home without the IV. In either case this time the hospital staff say they will see to it that the nurse who visits every day has proper wound care instructions.
On Wednesday morning the home care MD examined Leah & found that the dressing on her leg wound had not been changed since her return from the hospital on 12/11 and appeared to be infected. He said the condition could not be treated at home, and I authorized him to take her to the hospital for treatment. At 3:30 that afternoon the ER MD called to say that the infection was severe and that Leah would require IV antibiotics which I authorized. I also spoke to the ER orthopedist, and he agreed that she is not a candidate for surgery. At half past midnight this morning the MD on Leah's ward called to tell me that Leah had just been admitted and asked if I knew what medications she takes. I told her I did not know but gave her Leah's primary home care worker's home phone number. The home care worker brought a list of meds to the hospital yesterday but the ER did not transmit this to the ward upstairs, so the home care worker had to go to Leah's apartment, write a list of the meds and bring it back to the hospital. Late this morning the hospital social worker called, and I also spoke to the nurse practitioner on Leah's floor. Leah will stay at Montefiore Hospital through the weekend and will then be sent home on home hospice care. If the antibiotics appear to be working (reduction in white blood cell count) Leah will continue with the IV antibiotics at home for six weeks. If the antibiotics do not appear to be working she'll be sent home without the IV. In either case this time the hospital staff say they will see to it that the nurse who visits every day has proper wound care instructions.
my 102 year old great-aunt Leah
Jan. 18th, 2007 07:37 pmMy parents are vacationing in Vietnam, and I am the next-of-kin responsible for health decisions for my 102 year old great-aunt Leah who has senile dementia and lives at home with 24 hour home care. Back in December one of her home care workers moved her inappropriately and broke her left femur. She was sent home from the hospital with her leg in a splint and a dressing on a wound at the site of the break. For some reason my parents left instructions that Leah was not to be hospitalized, but yesterday I had to violate those instructions. Although a nurse visits every day to treat her bed sores it turns out no one had changed the dressing on her wound!
On Wednesday morning the home care MD examined Leah & found that the dressing on her leg wound had not been changed since her return from the hospital on 12/11 and appeared to be infected. He said the condition could not be treated at home, and I authorized him to take her to the hospital for treatment. At 3:30 that afternoon the ER MD called to say that the infection was severe and that Leah would require IV antibiotics which I authorized. I also spoke to the ER orthopedist, and he agreed that she is not a candidate for surgery. At half past midnight this morning the MD on Leah's ward called to tell me that Leah had just been admitted and asked if I knew what medications she takes. I told her I did not know but gave her Leah's primary home care worker's home phone number. The home care worker brought a list of meds to the hospital yesterday but the ER did not transmit this to the ward upstairs, so the home care worker had to go to Leah's apartment, write a list of the meds and bring it back to the hospital. Late this morning the hospital social worker called, and I also spoke to the nurse practitioner on Leah's floor. Leah will stay at Montefiore Hospital through the weekend and will then be sent home on home hospice care. If the antibiotics appear to be working (reduction in white blood cell count) Leah will continue with the IV antibiotics at home for six weeks. If the antibiotics do not appear to be working she'll be sent home without the IV. In either case this time the hospital staff say they will see to it that the nurse who visits every day has proper wound care instructions.
On Wednesday morning the home care MD examined Leah & found that the dressing on her leg wound had not been changed since her return from the hospital on 12/11 and appeared to be infected. He said the condition could not be treated at home, and I authorized him to take her to the hospital for treatment. At 3:30 that afternoon the ER MD called to say that the infection was severe and that Leah would require IV antibiotics which I authorized. I also spoke to the ER orthopedist, and he agreed that she is not a candidate for surgery. At half past midnight this morning the MD on Leah's ward called to tell me that Leah had just been admitted and asked if I knew what medications she takes. I told her I did not know but gave her Leah's primary home care worker's home phone number. The home care worker brought a list of meds to the hospital yesterday but the ER did not transmit this to the ward upstairs, so the home care worker had to go to Leah's apartment, write a list of the meds and bring it back to the hospital. Late this morning the hospital social worker called, and I also spoke to the nurse practitioner on Leah's floor. Leah will stay at Montefiore Hospital through the weekend and will then be sent home on home hospice care. If the antibiotics appear to be working (reduction in white blood cell count) Leah will continue with the IV antibiotics at home for six weeks. If the antibiotics do not appear to be working she'll be sent home without the IV. In either case this time the hospital staff say they will see to it that the nurse who visits every day has proper wound care instructions.