Health Champion Blog

One moment your mom or dad is doing fine. Or fine enough, given their age, health and limitations. The next minute one of them is rushed to the emergency room. You get the call. You start putting your life on hold, knowing you need to be there overseeing care and critical decisions. But it could take hours, even a day or two, depending upon geography, work, and other family responsibilities to get there.

Now what? Unless you have a plan in place, your loved one will likely be alone in the emergency room, even if they’ve been living in an assisted living facility or nursing home. No one goes with them. And, very often, neither does critical information.

According to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (March, 2010), researchers found that when nursing home residents are bought to an Emergency Department, typically, 10% arrive without any medical information and the remaining 90% arrive missing some critical pieces!

These same patients, alone and frightened, are often unable to answer even simple questions. This inability could be due to shock and fear, an already reduced mental ability, or a sudden change in mental status due to the acute illness.

In order to make an accurate diagnosis and begin treatment, the medical team needs basic, critical information — from current medications and allergies to a full medical history and understanding of what is considered to be the patient’s normal mental status. Having this information helps avoid complications, misdiagnoses, redundant lab work and expensive tests, unnecessary hospitalizations, increased medical costs, and discharge to a rehab facility when they can often return home with added supports.

So, you’re on your way. Meanwhile, your parent is alone in the ER … What’s the solution?

Plan ahead for the possibility. Find someone you trust to accompany your parent when an emergency occurs. Give that person all vital information and permission to serve as your parent’s advocate until you arrive. Explore Health Champion’s new Health Champion @ the ER program to see how we can fill this essential role for your family. There’s more than one way to be there.