April 24, 2015 – Home Transition

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Anchor lead:  Can a new program ease transitions to home for people who’ve been hospitalized? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Caring for a loved one who’s been in the hospital doesn’t have to involve hands on care.  You can assist by acting as another pair of eyes and ears and managing details.  That’s the aim of a Johns Hopkins program called ‘Bridge to Home.’  Nurse educator Hannah Miller describes the role.

Miller: If someone doesn’t want to be a caregiver they can still be a health buddy. Really the health buddy is focusing on advocating for the patient while they’re in the hospital, asking the right questions of the care team, learning about the patient’s discharge plan and voicing concerns they might have about the discharge plan, helping patients to get their prescriptions when they get home, making sure their home is safe, also emphasizing maintaining mobility, also keeping a contact list in addition to a medication chart the patient and buddy can fill out.  :30

Miller says with early discharge, all too often people end up in urgent care or rehospitalized.  Bridge to Home hopes to help people stay home once they’re out of the hospital.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.