My Mom fell and had hip surgery yesterday and today the hospital is trying to make her walk. How can I advocate for my Mom?

JuliaVest1, that is standard operating procure to get someone out of bed and walking the next day after having hip surgery.

Even if you were able to move your Mom to another hospital, that hospital would have her up and out of bed the same day she arrived. Then what? Move her to a 3rd hospital?

Julia, I strongly suggest that you be available when the doctor rounds or ask your mom's nurse to get her/him on the phone. You need to know and understand the treatment plan so that you can help your mom understand why they are getting her up one day post surgery. The short answer is to prevent blood clots and death.

Your mom (and mine) come from a generation where you stayed in bed for a week after surgery. Not anymore...and it has nothing to do with Medicare vs Private Pay. You need to be your mom's cheerleader for PT now.

Early mobilisation sounds brutal but is correct procedure. They are not so much rushing her out of the hospital as trying to prevent DVT's and all of the other nasties that visit bed-bound patients. Your poor mother won't be enjoying this but it is clinically in her best interests. Give her lots of sympathy, but above all cheer her on - it'll be worth it for a speedy recovery. Best wishes to her.

You can best advocate for your mother by understanding what is going on. Ask for an explanation of any procedures you don't understand. Educate yourself via the internet. For example, here is a fairly detailed description of what to expect after hip replacement surgery: ucsfhealth/education/recovering_from_hip_replacement_surgery/
Of course you don't want to see Mother in pain and suffering. But some treatments are painful.

There is clearly more to this story. Julia, take the opportunity while mom is in the hospital to have a complete neuro work up (balance issue could be normal pressure hydrocephalus, for example) and cognitive issues ( if she's falling, is she using a walker? Should she be using a wheelchair?) Be aware of the fact that if a patient is readmitted with 30 days for the same problem, there is a penalty to the hospital, so it's in THEIR best interest to get to the bottom of this. I used an opportunity like yours to call in psychiatry and geriatrics, the two best consults ever, gave me and my brothers the big picture.

My sister in law is an orthopedic nurse. The protocol these days is to get up and move as soon as possible. It makes a huge difference in positive outcomes. No more lying in bed for weeks on end before starting physical therapy.

My uncle just had a hip replacement done and he too was up and walking almost as soon as the anesthesia wore off. He's doing great now with very little pain. It was painful to get up and move at the beginning, but he had to work through it to get better.

This is not what our mothers & grandmothers want to hear. Getting up to move sounds preposterous to them and quite cruel, but it's not.

They are making her walk because they have doctor's orders to do so. Same with knee replacements. You walk the same day! You are discharged in 1-3 days. Then you go to rehab (a good idea) or you go home.

This is standard, heck these days we walk patients who are still intubated and on the ventilator! I do it alot.. it is soo much better to get them up and moving, for blood clot prevention, healthy lungs and hearts.. you name it!

She did not have hip replacement surgery and she has many issues in her back and knee leading to her falling 34 times in the last 2 months. Not attending to these pre existing issues and her fear of falling again is my concern.

Did you talk to her doctor? The doctor is writing the orders.