Where am I? How Did I Get Here? How Do I Get Out?

Regina McNamara, RN, MSN, MPH

There are few sadder and more frightening scenarios than an elderly person alone in a hospital Emergency Room. Especially if she has dementia…or difficulty walking…or hearing…or seeing… or speaking. Especially if she is in pain.

She has no idea where she is. She is attached to monitors making strange sounds…There are bright lights everywhere, making it even more difficult for her to see anything much less understand. People are trying to “find a vein” in order to take blood from her. She is very, very cold.

No one is talking TO her, but many are talking AT her.

The questions come fast and frequently and are repeated by many different people she doesn’t know…Doctors, nurses, social workers, aides….

“Why are you here ?”
“Who is the President”?
“What is today’s date?”
“What meds do you take”?
“Any allergies?”
“Any family in the area?”
“Where is the pain and how long have you had it?”

These people all seem nice but why can’t the answers be passed on? Why do they keep asking? And why can’t she answer?

The Emergency Department of any hospital is a welcome refuge for those who have sustained injuries or serious illnesses. It is a place where many lives are saved or restored on a daily basis.

But for an elderly confused patient who is alone, it is a frightening and confusing new world. Given the many patients who need true emergency care, the elderly person’s needs are seldom met in this environment.

That person needs an advocate to can keep her calm, slowly explain what is happening, answer some of the many questions by hospital staff, support her, and keep her company. She needs a person who knows where the warmed blankets are stored.

No elderly person should go to the Emergency Room without an advocate who knows and understand the systems, and more importantly clearly understand the unique needs of elderly people.

At Always There, we have such advocates available. We help manage the ER process to best benefit the patient. We remain in contact with family members who are out of the area. We visit patient daily in the hospital to track their progress and report it to loved ones. We assist in the discharge planning process, easing the path to home or place mat for the person.

When an elderly person’s loved ones are not available to attend to her in the ER and throughout the hospital stay, a Geriatric Care manager can serve as their eyes and ears. She will become the trusted advisor to the family and the friend to the patient, helping to make the hospital stay and discharge as smooth as possible.

Call us at 800 348 0485.
We are Always There ■