{"id":6960,"date":"2022-07-21T09:00:42","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/be-a-patient-advocate\/"},"modified":"2022-07-21T09:00:42","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T09:00:42","slug":"be-a-patient-advocate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/be-a-patient-advocate\/","title":{"rendered":"A Caregiver\u2019s Story: Being a Patient Advocate"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am providing you with another experience from my sister Cindy<\/a>, as she cared for our mother and father in their last days. I remember several trips to the hospital during those years for both our parents. \u00a0Cindy shares with us here how important it is to be present at those times whenever possible to be a patient advocate. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a caregiver it is important to be your patient\u2019s advocate when they are admitted to a facility for rehab or hospitalization. \u00a0No one knows your patient like you do. \u00a0In the early part of my father\u2019s illness, he had an emergency issue and had to be rushed by ambulance to the small rural hospital in our area. \u00a0I felt sure he was in good hands and would be well cared for with no worries on my part. \u00a0This would also provide me a short respite prior to joining him at the hospital. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A few hours into his admission process, I received a call to tell me they were rushing him to surgery. \u00a0Apparently the ER staff had not noted that he had a partial plate upon assessment and he apparently had swallowed his dental work as he lay in his exam room. Luckily, the surgeon was able to quickly remove his plate with tongs without having to do surgery. \u00a0That was the last time that I failed to follow my father immediately to the ER to be with him throughout the admission process and advocate for his care. After this learning experience with my father, I remained close at hand when either of my parents entered a facility. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

My mother was admitted to a respiratory facility in Tennessee who specialized in weaning patients off the ventilator. After researching and obtaining help for my father who remained home, I made the trek from Virginia to Tennessee to monitor her care. \u00a0She stayed there for several months and I was able to stay in her room on my trips down to Tennessee. \u00a0They trained me to care for her tracheotomy needs so that I could eventually take her home. \u00a0The staff was diligent about teaching me \u00a0proper clean techniques. \u00a0It was explained to me that suctioning her lungs was an easy way to introduce germs if it was not done correctly. \u00a0I learned so much and was excited about taking her home but due to regulations we needed to have her admitted to a step-down unit before her return home.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

When we left Tennessee, the respiratory facility filled my car with her suction catheters, tubing, connectors, and I even had use of their oxygen equipment for the transfer. \u00a0I stayed with her on admission to the new step-down to make sure everything was handled properly. \u00a0This facility had just started taking tracheotomy patients and they were not prepared. \u00a0Their oxygen equipment did not have the proper tubing connectors and I had to go to my car to retrieve the oxygen equipment that had been sent with me. \u00a0The staff was not sure how to set up the system she needed so I was able to train them on the process. \u00a0The first nurse who came in to suction my mother proceeded to complete the process and then stick the catheter in a cup of water. \u00a0I asked her why she was saving it. \u00a0She explained it was facility policy to reuse them. \u00a0I explained that any germs in her lungs would just be reintroduced back into her lungs and that it was unacceptable to reuse suction catheters. I spent the day watching and correcting that nurse\u2019s care. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Soon after, we were able to discharge mother home<\/a> and I was exhausted. \u00a0This experience had been no respite for me. \u00a0I realized that even though this particular step-down facility was not typical of the good in-patient care that my mother had previously received, the point still remained that I knew the most about my patient and it was vital that I was with her as much as possible to advocate for her. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Upon returning home after our long months gone, it was so important to seek help from a senior home care<\/a> local agency to help mother and me settle back into our daily activities of living. \u00a0With help, we were in the best place possible. \u00a0We were home!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Remember as often you can, advocate for your patient and be their spokesperson. \u00a0This will not only help your patient, but the staff working with your patient to give the best care possible.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am providing you with another experience from my sister Cindy, as she cared for our mother and father in Learn More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":3648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[946,959],"tags":[943,1041],"class_list":["post-6960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-caregivers","category-why-home-care","tag-family-caregiver","tag-practical-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Caregiver\u2019s Story: Being a Patient Advocate - Preferred Care at Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Caregiver\u2019s Story: Being a Patient Advocate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am providing you with another experience from my sister Cindy, as she cared for our mother and father in Learn More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/be-a-patient-advocate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Preferred Care at Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-21T09:00:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Patient-Advocate_Home-Care_Preferred.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"940\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"788\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laurie Salmons, RN, BSN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laurie Salmons, RN, BSN\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/be-a-patient-advocate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/be-a-patient-advocate\/\",\"name\":\"A Caregiver\u2019s Story: Being a Patient Advocate - Preferred Care at Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-21T09:00:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-21T09:00:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#\/schema\/person\/cdfef04c066f94ca4d89dc3ebfb3d27c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/be-a-patient-advocate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/be-a-patient-advocate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/be-a-patient-advocate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Caregiver\u2019s Story: Being a Patient Advocate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/\",\"name\":\"Preferred Care at Home\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#\/schema\/person\/cdfef04c066f94ca4d89dc3ebfb3d27c\",\"name\":\"Laurie Salmons, RN, BSN\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3de0d99fffd33e3941d0f6dec47787f299436a33d297de574bb916ec606cd17?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3de0d99fffd33e3941d0f6dec47787f299436a33d297de574bb916ec606cd17?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Laurie Salmons, RN, BSN\"},\"description\":\"Laurie has been a registered nurse for over 30 years with 20 of those years being spent in the home care industry. 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