WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.220 Welcome to the Light Keepers podcast. I'm Clayton 00:00:03.220 --> 00:00:05.759 Vandiver, your Light Keeper, with the show dedicated 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:08.660 to everyone who wants to get the very most quality 00:00:08.660 --> 00:00:12.119 out of life that they can. My co -host, as always, 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:14.900 Charlene, our very own licensed clinical social 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:17.879 worker in the state of Florida, who is joining 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:20.699 the conversation this week about what happens 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:23.460 when you get discharged from the hospital. We 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:26.920 talked last week about what happens in the hospital. 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:29.420 And now we're going to talk about what happens 00:00:29.420 --> 00:00:32.700 next, right here on this episode of the Light 00:00:32.700 --> 00:01:06.140 Keepers Podcast. is if you have a hospital that 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:09.560 is slammed and they're out of beds and they're 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:12.400 needing to empty those beds you're going to see 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:15.840 patients who are being pushed to discharge sometimes 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:18.599 maybe even before they're ready and that's something 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:21.079 you don't really think about but the dynamic 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:25.180 of what the hospital needs and what the community 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:29.980 needs from that hospital can dictate what you 00:01:29.980 --> 00:01:33.540 get as a patient in some cases. Absolutely. There 00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:35.939 are limitations to everything. Absolutely. And 00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:38.840 what a lot of people don't know, especially our 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:43.439 older citizens who are on Medicare, don't know 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:46.980 that if they feel like they're being discharged 00:01:46.980 --> 00:01:50.159 prematurely, they can appeal that discharge. 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:53.420 They can contact Medicare and they can appeal 00:01:53.420 --> 00:01:57.000 that discharge. Really? And they cannot be discharged 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:59.980 until that appeal is completed. Now, every hospital 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:02.280 is supposed to notify a patient of this prior 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:06.299 to discharge. Okay. And a lot of hospitals will 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:08.639 actually require you to sign a form acknowledging 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:10.979 that you've been told you can appeal your discharge. 00:02:11.259 --> 00:02:15.000 Now, oftentimes after you've had medical procedures 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:19.259 or you're not feeling well, Many of those forms 00:02:19.259 --> 00:02:22.740 that the hospitals have you sign, you're signing. 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:26.460 You don't read them all. And you don't all the 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:29.719 time, at least I know I haven't always been fully 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:32.400 aware of exactly what it was. Oh, it's another 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:34.159 piece of paper. Okay, and I'll sign this one 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:36.419 too, and then that one too. Exactly, and they 00:02:36.419 --> 00:02:38.719 do that. And I'm not going to say they do it 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:40.819 on purpose because I don't think they mean to. 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:43.460 A lot of times it's just a matter of efficiency. 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:46.759 But there are a lot of papers that need to be 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:48.900 signed. You're consenting to treatment. You're 00:02:48.900 --> 00:02:51.620 consenting to rehab. You're releasing HIPAA information. 00:02:52.340 --> 00:02:54.860 You're acknowledging this. You're acknowledging 00:02:54.860 --> 00:02:57.560 that. And somewhere buried in that stack of papers 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:00.180 is your acknowledgement that you've been told, 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:03.020 whether you have been or not, you're acknowledging 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:05.219 that you've been told you can appeal your discharge. 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:09.639 You know, I've signed a lot of papers over many 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:12.919 years. I never noticed that piece of paper before. 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:15.530 A lot of people don't. and that's why it really 00:03:15.530 --> 00:03:18.129 uh i think it's important that this is the sort 00:03:18.129 --> 00:03:20.909 of information that we love to share with our 00:03:20.909 --> 00:03:23.289 audience both the listening audience the viewing 00:03:23.289 --> 00:03:26.650 audience because it's valuable information it 00:03:26.650 --> 00:03:30.710 can change how you manage your own dish it gives 00:03:30.710 --> 00:03:34.229 you power knowledge is power and that empowers 00:03:34.229 --> 00:03:37.969 you to be able to perhaps change the course of 00:03:37.969 --> 00:03:41.900 your treatment and care And just being aware 00:03:41.900 --> 00:03:47.400 of that going in can change greatly how you and 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:50.680 your doctors coordinate and communicate with 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:53.060 one another. Well, and there's a lot that goes 00:03:53.060 --> 00:03:55.539 into a hospital stay and a discharge that people 00:03:55.539 --> 00:04:00.500 don't realize. For example, tragic story that 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:05.199 I encountered with a patient once. He lived alone, 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:09.569 came into the hospital. And while he was hospitalized, 00:04:10.050 --> 00:04:13.650 no one knew he had a pet at home. Okay, well, 00:04:13.710 --> 00:04:16.329 guess what? Most hospital case managers are not 00:04:16.329 --> 00:04:19.430 going to ask you if you have a pet at home. And 00:04:19.430 --> 00:04:22.750 it wasn't until the gentleman was being evicted 00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:25.250 because he had not paid his rent because he was 00:04:25.250 --> 00:04:29.209 in the hospital that it was discovered that there 00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:31.550 had been a pet locked in the apartment all that 00:04:31.550 --> 00:04:35.350 time. See, when you're in the hospital, If you 00:04:35.350 --> 00:04:37.870 don't have family, if you don't have a friend, 00:04:37.970 --> 00:04:40.589 if you don't have someone that you can partner 00:04:40.589 --> 00:04:43.610 with, your bills aren't getting paid. Whatever 00:04:43.610 --> 00:04:46.290 is in the apartment is not being taken care of. 00:04:47.350 --> 00:04:49.829 Everything that you do in your day -to -day life 00:04:49.829 --> 00:04:54.410 comes to a screeching halt if there's not someone 00:04:54.410 --> 00:04:57.389 there that can pick that up for you. Right. I 00:04:57.389 --> 00:04:59.389 think of so many things around the household 00:04:59.389 --> 00:05:01.810 that you just do every day and don't even think 00:05:01.810 --> 00:05:04.540 about. It's just part of your routine. as part 00:05:04.540 --> 00:05:07.540 of your normal care of running a household, even 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:10.180 if it's just a small apartment, if it's a large 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:14.120 house. But if you're by yourself, you're depending 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:16.399 on yourself. And if you have a pet, that pet's 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:21.899 depending on you. And if you came in to the hospital 00:05:21.899 --> 00:05:25.279 after a tragic accident and you're not fully 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.040 conscious, that pet may not be the first thing 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:30.470 on your mind. You know, one of the things that 00:05:30.470 --> 00:05:35.810 I recommend always is having a card in your wallet 00:05:35.810 --> 00:05:38.970 that just, it can be handwritten or it can be 00:05:38.970 --> 00:05:41.589 handwritten, laminated, whatever. But something 00:05:41.589 --> 00:05:44.569 that says, hey, I have pets at home. These are 00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:48.069 their names. This is their vet. Because a lot 00:05:48.069 --> 00:05:51.370 of times, if you have a good, responsible caseworker, 00:05:51.649 --> 00:05:54.029 first of all, they're going to be going through 00:05:54.029 --> 00:05:57.250 that wallet. Sorry, it happens. That's how they 00:05:57.250 --> 00:05:59.430 find your insurance information. And a lot of 00:05:59.430 --> 00:06:02.589 times, a lot of times I've had Jane and John 00:06:02.589 --> 00:06:04.850 Does come into the trauma department. That was 00:06:04.850 --> 00:06:07.269 how I found out who they were. Yeah, if you're 00:06:07.269 --> 00:06:09.850 in a traffic accident and you come in unconscious, 00:06:10.370 --> 00:06:13.870 no one knows to call a next of kin. No one knows 00:06:13.870 --> 00:06:16.310 if you have a next of kin or a place to live. 00:06:16.569 --> 00:06:20.009 So you come in, somebody's going to have to find 00:06:20.009 --> 00:06:24.230 out who you are. And how many times did the local 00:06:24.230 --> 00:06:28.069 police department, stand there saying we don't 00:06:28.069 --> 00:06:29.889 know who they are we got no way to find out and 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:32.110 a few minutes later the social worker walked 00:06:32.110 --> 00:06:33.949 around the corner and said this is who they are 00:06:33.949 --> 00:06:35.550 this is where they live this is their next of 00:06:35.550 --> 00:06:39.370 kin I've already called them sometimes police 00:06:39.370 --> 00:06:41.970 know sometimes the police is able to provide 00:06:41.970 --> 00:06:45.730 that information to to the hospital worker sometimes 00:06:45.730 --> 00:06:48.490 it's the other way around depending on how good 00:06:48.490 --> 00:06:50.230 of a Sherlock Holmes they have working in the 00:06:50.230 --> 00:06:53.839 trauma department there you go Well, it's important 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:56.839 to have that personnel there advocating for the 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:58.959 patient and that's really what the social worker 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:01.120 does. So when you see your social worker come 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:04.740 around, realize that they're on your side. They 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:08.180 can be trusted and they can be given that information 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:10.579 because they're really there to help you. And 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:12.860 they will work with you as much as possible, 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:15.779 but even they have limitations based on the hospital 00:07:15.779 --> 00:07:19.389 setting. But again, it's important to include 00:07:19.389 --> 00:07:21.829 as much information as you can in your wallet 00:07:21.829 --> 00:07:25.149 or in your pocketbook, including next of kin. 00:07:25.350 --> 00:07:28.610 And by the way, a lot of people do this in case 00:07:28.610 --> 00:07:31.569 of emergency contact on their phones. Guess what? 00:07:31.670 --> 00:07:34.089 We can't access that if we can't unlock your 00:07:34.089 --> 00:07:40.850 phone. Now, isn't that a great thought? So a 00:07:40.850 --> 00:07:44.810 lot of times what I have done and what a lot 00:07:44.810 --> 00:07:47.430 of people that I've spoken with have done is 00:07:47.430 --> 00:07:51.329 they have included on their lock screen in case 00:07:51.329 --> 00:07:53.610 of emergency contact this person because then 00:07:53.610 --> 00:07:55.850 you don't have to unlock the phone to get that 00:07:55.850 --> 00:07:58.170 information. Well, another thought I just had 00:07:58.170 --> 00:08:02.230 for some folks who might have biometric. locks 00:08:02.230 --> 00:08:05.569 on their smartphones. The nurse in the emergency 00:08:05.569 --> 00:08:08.129 room could actually use a thumb or a forefinger 00:08:08.129 --> 00:08:11.149 on the screen to unlock it, and that might be 00:08:11.149 --> 00:08:14.509 a good idea to use biometrics to give access 00:08:14.509 --> 00:08:17.550 to medical professionals who might need that. 00:08:17.949 --> 00:08:21.290 That thought does occur to a lot of social workers 00:08:21.290 --> 00:08:24.310 in the emergency department, but usually only 00:08:24.310 --> 00:08:26.629 once the patient is deceased, because if they're 00:08:26.629 --> 00:08:28.250 still alive, there are more important things 00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:32.509 going on. That's also a good thought. Well, not 00:08:32.509 --> 00:08:35.169 a good thought, but it's a, yeah. It's a pertinent 00:08:35.169 --> 00:08:38.269 thought. It's a pertinent thought. And on that 00:08:38.269 --> 00:08:40.649 pertinent thought, of course, this is all a highly 00:08:40.649 --> 00:08:43.289 personal choice and no conversation that we have 00:08:43.289 --> 00:08:46.049 on the Light Keepers podcast should ever take 00:08:46.049 --> 00:08:49.850 the place of your own medical care team or other 00:08:49.850 --> 00:08:52.649 professional advisor who should always be consulted 00:08:52.649 --> 00:08:56.389 by you on your specific situational needs. And 00:08:56.389 --> 00:08:58.230 it's always good to be willing to talk about 00:08:58.230 --> 00:09:00.950 quality of life. because every single one of 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:03.529 us may face some of these situations at some 00:09:03.529 --> 00:09:07.029 point and will either not be prepared at all 00:09:07.029 --> 00:09:11.230 or very well prepared indeed from watching the 00:09:11.230 --> 00:09:14.610 Light Keepers podcast. That's every Wednesday 00:09:14.610 --> 00:09:17.070 evening at 7 p .m. Eastern. 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We sincerely hope you'll join 00:10:30.490 --> 00:10:32.710 the conversation in the coming weeks, and your 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:35.490 questions and comments below will add to that 00:10:35.490 --> 00:10:38.529 conversation. Speaking of that, hit the like 00:10:38.529 --> 00:10:42.690 and subscribe buttons. It's free. And hit that 00:10:42.690 --> 00:10:45.049 little bell. Click the bell that tells you when 00:10:45.049 --> 00:10:47.450 our next episode is going to be airing so you 00:10:47.450 --> 00:10:50.730 don't miss a single show on the Light Keepers 00:10:50.730 --> 00:10:54.009 podcast. I'm Clayton Vandiver, your Light Keeper. 00:10:54.269 --> 00:10:55.450 We'll see you here.