Description
Hospital discharges are fraught with potential for trouble due to miscommunication or misunderstanding. During the pandemic, this was heightened by the inability of caregivers to often be present at the time of discharge. Elder care experts Dr. Rita Ghatak and Dr. Ellen Brown discuss various aspects of discharge and provide helpful tips on ways to minimize problems during this transition home.
Objectives
- Learn how discharge planning changed during the pandemic.
- Learn how to ensure integration of caregivers into discharge planning.
- Understand decision making around hospitalization and whether alternate care is possible.
- Understand strategies for communication with health systems during the pandemic.
Handouts
Click images to view or download PDF files.
About the Presenters
Eldercare experts Dr. Ellen Brown and Dr. Rita Ghatak have been working closely the last few years in serving the community with lectures and developing resources for older adults, caregivers, and solo agers. They are also active in providing consultations for individual families to help create practical roadmaps for wellness, crisis planning and serious illness.
Dr. Ellen Brown is a pioneer in developing the role of the hospice physician in the Bay area. She has served the community by providing care in the home to thousands of hospice patients and their families in her 20 years at Pathways Hospice. She has trained countless Stanford Palliative Medicine and Geriatrics fellows who now provide care throughout the United States.
Dr. Rita Ghatak has been working extensively for two and a half decades in the field of aging with direct care, research, and education. Most recently the Founder/Director of Aging Adult Services at Stanford University Medical Center, she is now the CEO/Founder of Aging 101 an entity providing multiple services to older adults. Dr. Ghatak teaches extensively and is active in research and policy.
About the Moderator
Paula Wolfson, LCSW, is an elder care social worker with over 30 years on the front lines of patient care advocacy. Paula is the Manager of Avenidas Care Partners. She facilitates multiple caregiver support groups, conducts elder care consults, and is active on the Palo Alto Age Friendly Committee.
Presented by Avenidas Care Partners
