These are excellent tips. Thank you.
(0)
Report

Between my elderly grandma, then my dad, mom and very close uncle, I have been in many local hospitals in Miami. So far all have accomodated an overnight companion. My dad was so difficult in ICU, they even allowed me to stay.
Usually the nurses are grateful, a companion can lessen their load, for the non medical requests, and help calm the patient.
(1)
Report

Interesting. I wonder if it makes a difference that my mother was in a single bed infectious disease room in the geriatric ward. She had a UTI but there was some question as to whether she might have had pneumonia (she didn't). It was a very cramped room with a bashed in wall behind the bed. Hospitals are so expensive but so badly kept up. We came in via ER which is such an abuse because apparently primary physicians don't see ill patients any more - they tell you to call an ambulance.

CT does not have a great many hospitals. I had a choice of two and picked what I thought was the better one.
(0)
Report

PCVS, I cannot imagine a hospital not allowing the caregiver to be present at all hours. The hosptial that is nearest to us has window seats in each room that convert to beds for a family member. They allow 24 visitation for any patient. We wanted to switch to another hospital within the system where my husband's primary care physician does her rounds. I called and asked a lot of questions, including their policy about "visiting hours" for caregivers. I was assured the caregiver or a family member could be there at all hours. My husband has been hospitalized there once. No nice built-in window seat beds, but they did provide a reclining chair and bedding. We set up a schedule and at no time was my husband without a family member in his room, 24/7.

If you have the option of other hospitals, find out the visiting policy for each hospital and let that be one of the factors that helps you decide which to use. If you need to use this hospital with the stringent visiting hours rules, go in ahead of time and discuss the policy with the hospital administrator. It is really to the hospital's advantage to have family present for dementia patients. It keeps them calmer, often prevents behavioral problems, and reduces the number of calls to the nurses for things like water and bathroom visits and just plain confusion. Often dementia patients are not able to use the call buttons.

If a reasonable conversation doesn't work, I think I'd try invoking the Disability laws. Reasonable accomodation must be made for disabilities. Just as the hospital will supply or allow wheelchairs, and use lifting devices for persons who can't transfer out of bed on their own, they need to provide or allow one-on-one monitoring of persons with dementia.

Good luck!
(1)
Report

How do we address the issue of the hospital not allowing the primary family caregiver to be there when it's not officially visiting hours?
(0)
Report

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter