WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.980 Welcome to the Light Keepers podcast. I'm Clayton 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:05.379 Vandiver, your Light Keeper, with the show dedicated 00:00:05.379 --> 00:00:08.460 to everyone who wants to get the most quality 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:11.439 out of life that they can. We don't talk about 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:14.939 the end of life here. We focus mainly on the 00:00:14.939 --> 00:00:18.820 quality of those days getting there. My co -host 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:22.160 as always, Charlene, our licensed clinical social 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:24.960 worker certified in the state of Florida, and 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:27.859 we invite you all to join us in this conversation 00:00:27.859 --> 00:00:32.240 this week. about the typical hospital stay from 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:35.479 start to finish on this episode of the Light 00:00:35.479 --> 00:01:05.859 Keepers podcast. Hey, before we start, I'd like 00:01:05.859 --> 00:01:07.640 to invite you to please leave your questions 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:11.019 or comments below. And please join the conversation. 00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:13.439 Questions this week will be answered during our 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:16.040 next show that appears online every Wednesday 00:01:16.040 --> 00:01:19.859 evening at 7 p .m. Eastern. The Light Keepers 00:01:19.859 --> 00:01:22.359 podcast is an exclusive production of A Guiding 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:24.540 Light Incorporated. We'll tell you more about 00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:27.000 A Guiding Light at the end of the podcast. But 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:29.040 we don't have much time, so let's get right into 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:31.140 this week's conversation. Charlene, thank you 00:01:31.140 --> 00:01:34.930 for joining us again. And what are the different 00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:39.450 reasons that someone might wind up going to the 00:01:39.450 --> 00:01:43.150 hospital? And how does that change how it all 00:01:43.150 --> 00:01:45.950 begins for the patient, the process of their 00:01:45.950 --> 00:01:48.269 hospital journey, their stay from start to finish? 00:01:48.489 --> 00:01:52.810 So that affects everything. For example, if someone 00:01:52.810 --> 00:01:55.530 walks in the doors to the emergency room versus 00:01:55.530 --> 00:01:58.269 rolling in in an ambulance makes a big difference. 00:01:59.260 --> 00:02:02.799 And what some people don't know, if they've been 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:06.760 super fortunate in life, is that when going to 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:09.020 the emergency room, obviously if you walk yourself 00:02:09.020 --> 00:02:13.699 in, you're not that injured and most likely you're 00:02:13.699 --> 00:02:17.370 going to be... treated and hopefully not hospitalized, 00:02:17.409 --> 00:02:20.330 but if you have to be brought in by ambulance, 00:02:20.590 --> 00:02:23.169 even with that, there are different levels. We 00:02:23.169 --> 00:02:25.509 talked about different levels of care. There 00:02:25.509 --> 00:02:28.110 are different levels of need when someone goes 00:02:28.110 --> 00:02:32.250 to the hospital, whether they're a standard admission 00:02:32.250 --> 00:02:36.710 or a trauma call. Oh, so the emergency room sort 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:39.349 of dictates the direction that some of your care 00:02:39.349 --> 00:02:42.099 goes from the moment you walk in the door. Absolutely. 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:45.240 Absolutely. Because, you know, if you walk in, 00:02:45.319 --> 00:02:48.319 then most likely you're going to be able to provide 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:50.259 them with your personal information. They're 00:02:50.259 --> 00:02:51.699 going to have what they need. You're going to 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:54.240 be able to tell them your symptoms versus, for 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:57.000 example, if you were a trauma call. Even with 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:58.759 trauma calls, there are different levels. You 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:01.340 have your tier one, two and three traumas. And 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:04.340 depending on what level of trauma you are, you 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:06.800 may or may not be able to give them any information. 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:10.979 That's true. That's true. I see a note here that 00:03:10.979 --> 00:03:14.580 sometimes the trauma call means you're not going 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:18.780 to be undressing yourself, whereas other times 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:20.699 that you go to the emergency room, you might 00:03:20.699 --> 00:03:23.120 be asked to undress and get into the gown. That's 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:25.879 the other big difference. If you take yourself 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:29.680 to the emergency room, or if you come in by ambulance 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:33.909 but you're not a trauma call, you... pretty much 00:03:33.909 --> 00:03:37.650 are able to interact with that visit. You're 00:03:37.650 --> 00:03:42.770 able to kind of direct the show, so to speak. 00:03:42.930 --> 00:03:47.250 If you come in as a trauma call, then odds are 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:49.770 the paramedics have cut off your clothing en 00:03:49.770 --> 00:03:53.430 route to the hospital and hope you're not wearing 00:03:53.430 --> 00:03:56.650 anything that was really valuable. And by the 00:03:56.650 --> 00:03:59.270 way, this is why mom always tells you to have 00:03:59.270 --> 00:04:01.900 on clean underwear because... I always wondered 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:03.919 about that. You may not be the one removing them 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:06.939 if you are taken in as a trauma call. That's 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:08.539 a good thought. Now, are there different levels 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:11.759 of trauma? Absolutely, absolutely. So a Tier 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:15.159 1 trauma call is basically if you have someone 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:19.579 with a life -threatening situation and there's 00:04:19.579 --> 00:04:23.120 going to be an immediate need of severe intervention, 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:26.980 possibly even immediate surgery. So, for example, 00:04:27.139 --> 00:04:30.860 some... Tier 1 trauma calls that I've been present 00:04:30.860 --> 00:04:38.639 for is gunshot wounds to vital areas. If you 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:43.360 have an older person maybe taking blood thinners 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:47.540 that fell and sustained head trauma, this is 00:04:47.540 --> 00:04:50.100 a potentially life -threatening situation. Of 00:04:50.100 --> 00:04:53.519 course. So that's a Tier 1 trauma. A Tier 2 trauma 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:58.519 is less severe but still very serious. may require 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:02.199 surgery, maybe not immediately, but within a 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:04.180 few hours. This is someone who's going to need 00:05:04.180 --> 00:05:07.639 a lot of intervention, but not necessarily life 00:05:07.639 --> 00:05:10.939 -threatening. They might need to stabilize them 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:14.459 first. Exactly. Do some tests, perhaps run labs. 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:17.420 This would be a bad car accident where you have 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:21.699 someone who's really banged up. but not necessarily 00:05:21.699 --> 00:05:25.339 life -threatening. A Tier 3 trauma is if you 00:05:25.339 --> 00:05:27.339 have to be a trauma call, this is the one you 00:05:27.339 --> 00:05:29.600 want to be because this is not life -threatening, 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:33.000 almost no risk of surgery. This is someone who 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:36.819 needs that immediate help, needs that urgent 00:05:36.819 --> 00:05:40.779 attention, but they're most likely, barring something 00:05:40.779 --> 00:05:42.600 severe happening, they're going to walk away 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.959 from it. Okay, so we find ourselves in the hospital. 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:48.740 Who are some of the team members that we're going 00:05:48.740 --> 00:05:52.740 to be meeting? So if you walk yourself into the 00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:54.879 emergency room or if a family member takes you, 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:59.480 you're going to be working with nurses, with 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:03.660 a physician, definitely. And depending on if 00:06:03.660 --> 00:06:06.420 you need any specialty care, for example, if 00:06:06.420 --> 00:06:09.540 you need x -rays done, there may be doctors that 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:12.259 see your chart and are involved in your care 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:16.980 you may never see. the technician that reads 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:20.100 those x -rays or reads the MRIs or the CAT scans. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:25.199 There may be doctors that your doctor consults 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:27.949 with that you may never see. You may get a bill 00:06:27.949 --> 00:06:30.490 for them, but you may never see them. So some 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:33.250 of the team you may never actually meet. Correct. 00:06:33.569 --> 00:06:36.410 If you are going to need care when you leave 00:06:36.410 --> 00:06:39.110 the hospital, then you're going to get to interact 00:06:39.110 --> 00:06:43.269 with a case manager. These are usually social 00:06:43.269 --> 00:06:46.389 workers or nurses who have additional training 00:06:46.389 --> 00:06:49.959 in. setting up hospital discharges and coordinating 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:52.060 care for when you leave the hospital i was going 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:54.459 to ask what does a case manager do for you what 00:06:54.459 --> 00:06:58.680 do they do for the hospital so last episode we 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:01.480 talked about different levels of care and if 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.980 someone is discharged needing rehab skilled nursing 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:07.519 care so your case manager is going to be the 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:10.000 one who helps coordinate that and set that up 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.439 for you they're also going to be the ones if 00:07:12.439 --> 00:07:15.439 you need care at home so if you need home help 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:18.600 coming in home health care or if you need follow 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.279 -up wound care or anything like that in the home 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:23.959 or if you need equipment, they're going to be 00:07:23.959 --> 00:07:25.720 the ones that are going to be setting that up 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:28.560 for you. Well, when do family members typically 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:33.120 get information from some of these players in 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:34.839 the hospital, some of these behind -the -scenes 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:38.879 folks, that you may never even meet? Will family 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.920 members get information from them? Hopefully. 00:07:42.659 --> 00:07:46.720 So there again, this depends on how the hospital 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.220 admission starts. If you bring yourself to the 00:07:50.220 --> 00:07:52.439 hospital or if you're alert when you come into 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:55.480 the hospital, the first thing that they're going 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:58.540 to ask you once they get past your medical history 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:02.399 and current situation is, who can we call? And 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:07.019 that's not just because they want you to. have 00:08:07.019 --> 00:08:09.199 someone there with you, but that's also because 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:12.360 that's someone who can make decisions for you 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:14.819 if something happens and you're not able to make 00:08:14.819 --> 00:08:16.839 them for yourself. That's a very good point. 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:19.199 And I've heard you tell me on many occasions 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:22.740 that it is best to have a family member or some 00:08:22.740 --> 00:08:26.300 caregiver, someone that you trust with you in 00:08:26.300 --> 00:08:29.560 the hospital at all times. Absolutely. Medical 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:33.840 professionals are wonderful people. you know, 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.559 speaking as a medical professional. But we're 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:39.940 also human and mistakes can happen, especially 00:08:39.940 --> 00:08:43.460 if you have someone with an allergy. You know, 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:48.700 doctors, not to play into the stereotypes here, 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:51.000 but doctors don't always read charts. They don't 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:53.480 always have time to, especially if it's someone 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:55.419 needing urgent care. They're going to come in 00:08:55.419 --> 00:08:57.360 and they're going to triage the situation, which 00:08:57.360 --> 00:08:58.919 means they're going to treat it as it presents. 00:09:00.029 --> 00:09:02.169 And if you have someone with an allergy, if you 00:09:02.169 --> 00:09:06.590 have someone with a pre -existing situation that 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:09.330 the medical team needs to be aware of, you're 00:09:09.330 --> 00:09:13.529 most likely going to be better off if you have 00:09:13.529 --> 00:09:18.559 someone with you. The medical setting is no different 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:21.240 than any other setting where you have someone 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:24.220 who is vulnerable, and that is that it's always 00:09:24.220 --> 00:09:26.600 best to have someone there to advocate for you 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.200 just in case. Well, that sort of plays into a 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:31.620 few weeks ago we were talking about DNR, do not 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:36.720 resuscitate, and how sometimes when in the heat 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:39.820 of the moment or if you're nonresponsive, there's 00:09:39.820 --> 00:09:41.659 no one there to tell them that you have one. 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:44.590 They may not know. And you may get resuscitated. 00:09:44.809 --> 00:09:47.409 Absolutely. The medical professional's first 00:09:47.409 --> 00:09:51.509 and foremost thought is going to be to serve 00:09:51.509 --> 00:09:55.120 and preserve. So they're going to treat and they're 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:57.120 going to do everything they can to keep someone 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:02.700 alive. Now, if that someone is maybe not wanting 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:05.120 that care, maybe they don't want to be kept alive, 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:09.539 maybe they're coming to the end of a long illness 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:13.259 and they don't want that to be prolonged, then... 00:10:14.180 --> 00:10:16.960 there's no one there to tell that medical professional. 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:20.019 If they don't have time to read the chart, they're 00:10:20.019 --> 00:10:22.120 not going to know that there may be documents 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:25.480 already in place talking about the level of care 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:29.080 that you want. Absolutely. Well, you know, I've 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:32.080 noticed that time seems to stand still when you're 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:34.860 in a hospital, in my experience. Whether you're 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:37.299 a visitor or a patient, have you had that happen? 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:41.820 Why does that happen? So, have you ever seen 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:45.179 a clock? In an emergency room? Come to think 00:10:45.179 --> 00:10:48.179 of it, I haven't. A lot of emergency rooms don't 00:10:48.179 --> 00:10:51.460 have clocks. And there's multiple reasons for 00:10:51.460 --> 00:10:54.379 that. Sometimes it's just an oversight. You know, 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:56.279 the hospital didn't think to put one there. Maybe 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:59.240 they do have one and you just can't see it from 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:03.409 where you are in the room. Sure. Time does seem 00:11:03.409 --> 00:11:07.990 to stand still in a hospital, and a lot of the 00:11:07.990 --> 00:11:10.789 times that's because when someone is in the hospital, 00:11:10.809 --> 00:11:15.129 it's a very stressful situation. Understandable. 00:11:15.210 --> 00:11:18.929 Time passes differently when you're not having 00:11:18.929 --> 00:11:23.240 fun. And a moment can seem to last a lifetime. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:26.299 That is true. Now, as a counselor, what can be 00:11:26.299 --> 00:11:28.960 done to sort of pass the time or to help that 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:33.879 situation? So if you are a family member that 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:37.759 is there with someone, you can pass that time 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:42.460 by being that moral support to them. Holding 00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:45.240 a hand, saying words. Talking to them. And if 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:50.039 you have someone who is very sick, Talk to them 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:52.440 about what they're experiencing because if something 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.620 happens and they lose that ability to speak, 00:11:54.940 --> 00:11:57.539 your information is going to be very valuable 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:00.259 to the medical team in helping to treat that 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:01.940 person. So if they're able to communicate to 00:12:01.940 --> 00:12:05.470 you along the way. Save that information. Jot 00:12:05.470 --> 00:12:07.809 that down. Take a notepad and a pen with you 00:12:07.809 --> 00:12:10.549 and keep those notes for the doctors. And it's 00:12:10.549 --> 00:12:13.429 always a good idea, no matter how old you are, 00:12:13.470 --> 00:12:16.330 how healthy or not healthy you are, it's always 00:12:16.330 --> 00:12:20.889 a good idea to have... either saved in a folder 00:12:20.889 --> 00:12:22.929 that you can grab quickly and easily, or maybe 00:12:22.929 --> 00:12:25.169 even saved on your electronic device, be it a 00:12:25.169 --> 00:12:27.629 tablet or a phone, current list of medications, 00:12:28.110 --> 00:12:30.629 current contact information for all of the medical 00:12:30.629 --> 00:12:32.409 professionals that you're seeing, especially 00:12:32.409 --> 00:12:34.950 any specialist, because what that's going to 00:12:34.950 --> 00:12:37.509 do is that's going to make the hospital's job 00:12:37.509 --> 00:12:39.909 a lot easier in pulling in all the information 00:12:39.909 --> 00:12:42.149 they need to be able to treat the situation. 00:12:42.690 --> 00:12:45.870 Absolutely. Well, when you're discharged from 00:12:45.870 --> 00:12:49.070 the hospital, What happens at that point, or 00:12:49.070 --> 00:12:51.350 is that something that since we're running a 00:12:51.350 --> 00:12:53.090 little short of time, we ought to save for the 00:12:53.090 --> 00:12:56.549 next show? That is something that we could cover 00:12:56.549 --> 00:12:58.730 over several different shows. Let's save that 00:12:58.730 --> 00:13:00.610 for the next one. Discharges are different depending 00:13:00.610 --> 00:13:03.230 on how someone's discharging, what care they 00:13:03.230 --> 00:13:06.129 need. Right, right. Well, thank you for that 00:13:06.129 --> 00:13:08.269 great information about the hospital experience. 00:13:08.769 --> 00:13:11.009 For a lot of folks who have never been to one, 00:13:12.350 --> 00:13:14.710 or who have been to one in different situations 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:17.730 or just been the family member of someone, that's 00:13:17.730 --> 00:13:20.610 important. That gives us some perspective to 00:13:20.610 --> 00:13:23.649 understand what to expect and how to handle ourselves 00:13:23.649 --> 00:13:26.289 once we're there. Absolutely. The most important 00:13:26.289 --> 00:13:30.970 thing is to remember that despite what they may 00:13:30.970 --> 00:13:33.970 believe, doctors are not gods, and the family 00:13:33.970 --> 00:13:37.029 and the patient does have the right to know what's 00:13:37.029 --> 00:13:40.889 going on. at all times absolutely absolutely 00:13:40.889 --> 00:13:45.029 and i have an advocate there speaking on your 00:13:45.029 --> 00:13:48.129 behalf absolutely Well, of course, this is all 00:13:48.129 --> 00:13:50.450 a highly personal choice and no conversation 00:13:50.450 --> 00:13:53.529 we have on the Light Keepers podcast. Should 00:13:53.529 --> 00:13:55.590 ever take the place of your own medical care 00:13:55.590 --> 00:13:59.529 team or other medical advisor, professional advisor, 00:13:59.610 --> 00:14:01.850 who should always be consulted by you on your 00:14:01.850 --> 00:14:05.830 own specific situational needs. It's always good 00:14:05.830 --> 00:14:07.950 to be willing to talk about quality of life because 00:14:07.950 --> 00:14:11.590 every single one of us will face some of these 00:14:11.590 --> 00:14:15.440 issues someday, either not prepared at all. or 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:18.700 very well prepared indeed, from joining us right 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:20.840 here on the Light Keepers podcast each and every 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:24.779 Wednesday at 7 p .m. Eastern. The Light Keepers 00:14:24.779 --> 00:14:27.720 podcast is an exclusive production of Animation 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:30.139 Studios and is brought to you by A Guiding Light, 00:14:30.340 --> 00:14:34.960 a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to education 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:37.200 and information that allows informed preparation 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:41.139 for living the very best life possible. The mission 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:44.100 of A Guiding Light is to provide education for 00:14:44.100 --> 00:14:46.340 professionals and information for everyone else 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:49.320 about life planning, available guidance, and 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.440 counseling that helps individuals and their family 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:55.440 navigate options that improve the quality of 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.399 their remaining days. 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And we're so grateful for your support. 00:15:36.370 --> 00:15:38.610 Sincerely hope you'll join the conversation in 00:15:38.610 --> 00:15:40.929 coming weeks. Add your questions and comments 00:15:40.929 --> 00:15:45.009 below. Speaking of that, take a moment and hit 00:15:45.009 --> 00:15:47.190 the like and subscribe buttons right now. It 00:15:47.190 --> 00:15:50.629 is free! And turn on that notify bell so you'll 00:15:50.629 --> 00:15:54.350 catch every single episode. I'm Clayton Vandiver, 00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:57.210 your Light Keeper. We'll see you next time.