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Correct the Unexpected — Full Assistance for an Unfamiliar Condition

Residential Nurse Alert to the Rescue

When learning a new care routine, we might overlook some details. Residential Nurse Alert helped one patient course-correct when supplies ran low.A new diagnosis or medical challenge is often a time of adjustments big and small. Added instructions, medications, information, and routines can be hard to grasp. During this adjustment period, it’s easy for something to fall through the cracks — especially a minor detail.

For one Residential Home Health patient, a new medical device was proving to be a source of upset. But even as she worried it was all too much to handle, she had a support system in place. Learn how the Residential Nurse Alert personal emergency response system helped to meet a pressing need and also paved the way for more expert care and teaching.

So Many Changes

The patient, a 64-year-old woman, had been experiencing some turmoil in her personal life, and her medical issues were only adding to her negative emotional state. With a history of anemia, anxiety, stroke, and heart surgery, she now had a new condition to manage: a recent surgery had included a colostomy procedure to temporarily re-route her intestinal tract, and she was learning to manage the new external ostomy appliance as part of her recovery.

Having transitioned from the hospital to a rehab facility, the patient transitioned again to care with Residential Home Health. She was living temporarily with one of her daughters, who also had no experience with ostomy management.

Materials Needed

The patient’s initial plan of home health care included nursing, physical therapy, and occupational therapy for recovery from her surgery. At the initial visit, the clinician’s first impression was of a woman who was having a hard time coping with her new condition and struggling to adjust to her new self-management routines.

Later, the patient was surprised to discover that she was already running out of supplies for her ostomy appliance. Being new to this condition and away from hospital or long-term care, the patient didn’t know how to get more supplies quickly — but she knew who would. Earlier that day, her Residential Nurse Alert system had been installed, and she remembered being told to press the button for anything, at any time. Without hesitating, she pushed the button for help.

Thorough Response

The patient was soon speaking to a triage nurse, who asked about the remaining materials and was able to quickly order replacements (covered by Medicare). This nurse also recognized what the clinicians in the home had already seen: that this patient would need more targeted support in order to feel comfortable and capable of managing her colostomy. Thanks to the coordinated input of the care team and Residential Nurse Alert responders, the patient was able to receive a consult with a Residential Home Health nurse specially trained and licensed in enterostomal therapy (care of wounds, ostomies, and continence issues). Instead of waiting anxiously to ask about supplies, now she would have not only the required materials, but also the coaching and support to manage her condition with more peace of mind.

While this patient pressed the button with a concern about medical supplies, the exclusive Residential Nurse Alert mobile response system can be used for any reason, day or night:

  • Emergency situations
  • Questions regarding hospital discharge instructions or medications
  • Help with scheduling physician appointments
  • Assistance with transportation
  • Questions for your primary care physician
  • Health concerns or any other reason

Residential Nurse Alert provides patients with Anytime-Anywhere-Anything access to their care team. Non-patients can also use the service to connect with Residential’s clinical team. In 2014, more than 300 probable hospital admissions were avoided with this system. For more information, click the link below, or call (888)930-WELL (9355) to speak with a nurse.

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