Welcome to the Light Keepers podcast. I'm Clayton
Vandiver, your Light Keeper, with the show dedicated
to everyone who wants to get the very most quality
out of life that they can. My co -host, as always,
Charlene, our very own licensed clinical social
worker in the state of Florida, who is joining
the conversation this week about what happens
when you get discharged from the hospital. We
talked last week about what happens in the hospital.
And now we're going to talk about what happens
next, right here on this episode of the Light
Keepers Podcast. is if you have a hospital that
is slammed and they're out of beds and they're
needing to empty those beds you're going to see
patients who are being pushed to discharge sometimes
maybe even before they're ready and that's something
you don't really think about but the dynamic
of what the hospital needs and what the community
needs from that hospital can dictate what you
get as a patient in some cases. Absolutely. There
are limitations to everything. Absolutely. And
what a lot of people don't know, especially our
older citizens who are on Medicare, don't know
that if they feel like they're being discharged
prematurely, they can appeal that discharge.
They can contact Medicare and they can appeal
that discharge. Really? And they cannot be discharged
until that appeal is completed. Now, every hospital
is supposed to notify a patient of this prior
to discharge. Okay. And a lot of hospitals will
actually require you to sign a form acknowledging
that you've been told you can appeal your discharge.
Now, oftentimes after you've had medical procedures
or you're not feeling well, Many of those forms
that the hospitals have you sign, you're signing.
You don't read them all. And you don't all the
time, at least I know I haven't always been fully
aware of exactly what it was. Oh, it's another
piece of paper. Okay, and I'll sign this one
too, and then that one too. Exactly, and they
do that. And I'm not going to say they do it
on purpose because I don't think they mean to.
A lot of times it's just a matter of efficiency.
But there are a lot of papers that need to be
signed. You're consenting to treatment. You're
consenting to rehab. You're releasing HIPAA information.
You're acknowledging this. You're acknowledging
that. And somewhere buried in that stack of papers
is your acknowledgement that you've been told,
whether you have been or not, you're acknowledging
that you've been told you can appeal your discharge.
You know, I've signed a lot of papers over many
years. I never noticed that piece of paper before.
A lot of people don't. and that's why it really
uh i think it's important that this is the sort
of information that we love to share with our
audience both the listening audience the viewing
audience because it's valuable information it
can change how you manage your own dish it gives
you power knowledge is power and that empowers
you to be able to perhaps change the course of
your treatment and care And just being aware
of that going in can change greatly how you and
your doctors coordinate and communicate with
one another. Well, and there's a lot that goes
into a hospital stay and a discharge that people
don't realize. For example, tragic story that
I encountered with a patient once. He lived alone,
came into the hospital. And while he was hospitalized,
no one knew he had a pet at home. Okay, well,
guess what? Most hospital case managers are not
going to ask you if you have a pet at home. And
it wasn't until the gentleman was being evicted
because he had not paid his rent because he was
in the hospital that it was discovered that there
had been a pet locked in the apartment all that
time. See, when you're in the hospital, If you
don't have family, if you don't have a friend,
if you don't have someone that you can partner
with, your bills aren't getting paid. Whatever
is in the apartment is not being taken care of.
Everything that you do in your day -to -day life
comes to a screeching halt if there's not someone
there that can pick that up for you. Right. I
think of so many things around the household
that you just do every day and don't even think
about. It's just part of your routine. as part
of your normal care of running a household, even
if it's just a small apartment, if it's a large
house. But if you're by yourself, you're depending
on yourself. And if you have a pet, that pet's
depending on you. And if you came in to the hospital
after a tragic accident and you're not fully
conscious, that pet may not be the first thing
on your mind. You know, one of the things that
I recommend always is having a card in your wallet
that just, it can be handwritten or it can be
handwritten, laminated, whatever. But something
that says, hey, I have pets at home. These are
their names. This is their vet. Because a lot
of times, if you have a good, responsible caseworker,
first of all, they're going to be going through
that wallet. Sorry, it happens. That's how they
find your insurance information. And a lot of
times, a lot of times I've had Jane and John
Does come into the trauma department. That was
how I found out who they were. Yeah, if you're
in a traffic accident and you come in unconscious,
no one knows to call a next of kin. No one knows
if you have a next of kin or a place to live.
So you come in, somebody's going to have to find
out who you are. And how many times did the local
police department, stand there saying we don't
know who they are we got no way to find out and
a few minutes later the social worker walked
around the corner and said this is who they are
this is where they live this is their next of
kin I've already called them sometimes police
know sometimes the police is able to provide
that information to to the hospital worker sometimes
it's the other way around depending on how good
of a Sherlock Holmes they have working in the
trauma department there you go Well, it's important
to have that personnel there advocating for the
patient and that's really what the social worker
does. So when you see your social worker come
around, realize that they're on your side. They
can be trusted and they can be given that information
because they're really there to help you. And
they will work with you as much as possible,
but even they have limitations based on the hospital
setting. But again, it's important to include
as much information as you can in your wallet
or in your pocketbook, including next of kin.
And by the way, a lot of people do this in case
of emergency contact on their phones. Guess what?
We can't access that if we can't unlock your
phone. Now, isn't that a great thought? So a
lot of times what I have done and what a lot
of people that I've spoken with have done is
they have included on their lock screen in case
of emergency contact this person because then
you don't have to unlock the phone to get that
information. Well, another thought I just had
for some folks who might have biometric. locks
on their smartphones. The nurse in the emergency
room could actually use a thumb or a forefinger
on the screen to unlock it, and that might be
a good idea to use biometrics to give access
to medical professionals who might need that.
That thought does occur to a lot of social workers
in the emergency department, but usually only
once the patient is deceased, because if they're
still alive, there are more important things
going on. That's also a good thought. Well, not
a good thought, but it's a, yeah. It's a pertinent
thought. It's a pertinent thought. And on that
pertinent thought, of course, this is all a highly
personal choice and no conversation that we have
on the Light Keepers podcast should ever take
the place of your own medical care team or other
professional advisor who should always be consulted
by you on your specific situational needs. And
it's always good to be willing to talk about
quality of life. because every single one of
us may face some of these situations at some
point and will either not be prepared at all
or very well prepared indeed from watching the
Light Keepers podcast. That's every Wednesday
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podcast. I'm Clayton Vandiver, your Light Keeper.
We'll see you here.