Cathy Cress

Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management

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Use a Patient Advocate- I Did and Am One Right Now

February 24, 2020

My husband is having Open Heart Surgery Today and I am His Patient Advocate.

Like all aging life or geriatric care managers, I use my own GCM tools to manage my own care. One tool was not to advocate for myself while in the hospital .l had a patient advocate stay with me when I had a knee replacement and hip replacements. I learned the importance of having someone advocate for you from fellow geriatric care manager Anne Rosenthall when I had my hip replaced many years ago.

No matter how good the hospital, mistakes can happen and you need, a patient advocate. My patient advocates were very good friends who were both kind and assertive. Two were actual conservator friends. They spoke for me when I was recovering from surgery and unable to speak for myself. My husband took this roll when I had my first hip replaced.

Now I am taking on the role myself for my husband, who is having open heart surgery today at Stanford Hospital. ( See photo-he is with me at 6 AM this morning) I am staying in his room, as I arranged with my own previous hospitalizations. This time we are in Stanford Hospital’s brand new wing and I am writing this from their Caregiver Center, where I will be all day while my husband is in surgery.

The Center a wonder of caregiver resources with sleeping couches ( we have been up since 3 AM to make his 6 AM appointment for surgery), a chapel and a caregiver consultant to help you. My daughter Kali is sleeping on one of the couches, the other daughter  Jill reading on the sunny deck and I am blogging in their tech center for caregivers, looking at the Coastal mountains rimming the Pacific, here in Palo Alto. We have 6 hours to wait until my husband is in ICU and we can see him.

What is a patient advocate?

An effective advocate is someone you trust who is willing to act on your behalf as well as someone who can work well with other members of your healthcare team such as your doctors and nurses. An advocate may be a member of your family, such as a spouse, a child, another family member, or a close friend. Another type of advocate is a professional advocate. Hospitals usually have professionals who play this role called Patient Representatives or Patient Advocates. Social workers, nurses, and chaplains may also fill this role. These advocates can often be very helpful in cutting through red tape. It is helpful to find out if your hospital has professional advocates available, and how they may be able to help you.

I will blog through my journey this week, but I expect only the best results and Stanford is a great hospital and my three-woman team of my 2 daughters ( see us above – Pete with hearts on his face) and I will be excellent patient advocates.

 

 

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Family, Aging Life Care, Aging Life Care Assocaition, aging life care manager, Geriatric Care Manager, nurse advocate, nurse care manager Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, aging life or geriatric care manager, aging parent care, care manager, case manager, geriatric care manager, geritric care manager, knee replacment, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, patient advocate

New York Times Today- Putrid Patient Care in Nursing Homes- Where is Gov.Surveillence for the Old in the US ??

July 6, 2017

Post-July 4, the US  government will again consider the Trump “Better Care Reconciliation Act,  gutting the Medicaid expansion that took place under the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare), which would throw older people out of nursing homes. But in today’s New York Times article you see the state of care of the vulnerable and elderly presently in US convalescent homes that is a stunning oxymoron for “convalescent”.

 

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Blog, care manager, case manager, elder abuse, elder care manager, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric social worker, nurse advocate, nurse care manager Tagged With: aging life care manager, aging life care managers, aging life or geriatric care marketing plan, ALCA, care manager, case manager, elder abuse in nursing homes, eldercare business, geriatric social worker, geritric care manager, Medicaid cuts in US, nursing home abuse

Knee Replacement? Use Patient Advocate- I did!

May 24, 2015

PDF-Cover-of-11-10-12My-Geriatric-Care-Management-Agency.jpg

 

 

My knee was just replaced. That was happening on the back end of my blog while you read the front end.

 

Like all aging life or geriatric care managers, I use my own GCM tools to manage my own care. One tool was not to advocate for myself while in the hospital .l had a patient advocate  stay with me . I learned this from fellow geriatric care manager Anne Rosenthal  when I had my hip replaced.

 

No matter how good the hospital, mistakes can happen and you need, a patient advocate. These were very good friends who were both kind and assertive .Two were actual conservator friends. They spoke for me when I was recovering from surgery and unable to speak for myself.

 

Here is an example of why you need them.. Besides a patient advocate you need a fully licensed physical therapist. A physical therapist came to see me in the hospital the first day. My friend the conservator asked his credentials and found he was an unlicensed resident. She demanded that an actual licensed physical therapist treat me. From then on a licensed physical therapist managed my care. Top-notch physical therapy is key to knee replacement.

 

Do the same thing for yourself that you would do for your client. Remember caregivers, even an aging life or geriatric care manager, must care for themselves.

 

I still have terrific physical therapy at home through Medicare am about to go to the best outpatient PT in Santa Cruz. where I live. These professionals are the key to my recovery.

 

Filed Under: Aging Tagged With: aging life or geriatric care manager, geritric care manager, knee replacment, patient advocate

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