Chapter 21
Approaching Discharge
The day of discharge may seem far away when you are first admitted to the spinal cord injury service. It will take some time for you to develop your goals for your life after discharge. With each goal, you will make decisions about where you wish to live, what you want to do, contacts you will want to make. Your family, friends, and others will be interested and involved, too. However, you are the director of your discharge plan.
PLANNING YOUR DISCHARGE
There are some important areas to consider in discharge planning. The questions listed in the forms that follow will direct your planning in these areas. Try answering these questions with your family, friends, and the rehabilitation team working with you. Every team member will be available as a resource in answering these questions. You can use this chapter as a workbook to formulate your answers to these important questions regarding your discharge. In addition, home safety and other checklist resources are available from the web sites listed at the end of this chapter.
Some people will be returning to their place of residence at the time of spinal cord injury. Others will need to make changes in their living situation. Here are a few tips to guide you when searching for the environment best suited to you.
Private Home
In addition to a home evaluation, don’t forget a good safety check. A checklist is available from one of the web sites listed at the end of this chapter.
Group Living Situations
There are many types and names for shared living situations. Some options are:
- Retirement Residence--An apartment or single home setting that can include some physical help.
- Assisted Living--An apartment setting that usually includes some physical help available most of the day.
- Adult Family Care Homes--A small home-like setting with 24-hour caregivers. Most states require inspections and certification of these homes.
- Nursing Home--A skilled nursing facility with 24-hour per day RN or vocational nursing staff (LPN) who can handle complex medical problems. These facilities are regulated by state (Medicaid) and federal (Medicare) agencies.
Selecting any particular setting is a highly personal decision. The best approach is to decide what features are most important to you and find a way to check out the facility. Ask for references, have a tour, and use the checklists that follow or those from the web sites mentioned at the end of this chapter.
Select a form below and click on it to view and answer the questions in it.
RESOURCES
Web Sites
www.senioralternatives.com/dynahtml/sla/rrcheck.html
A retirement residence checklist and other resources are available.
www.agenet.com
A retirement residence checklist, nursing home checklist, assisted living checklist, home safety checklist, and other resources are available.
www.hcfa.gov/medicare/nurshm1.htm
An informative guide to choosing a nursing home is available.
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Approaching Discharge