In the nursing fraternity, transfer of critically ill patients is a normal scene. However, some precautions should be implemented, as the health of the patient is optimal. In this case, we shall review the possibilities of reducing transfers of the elderly from their nursing homes into hospitals as they seek treatment. We shall discuss various ways the nursing fraternity is doing to cope with the challenge.
In the United States, the number of transfers of the elderly has had an upsurge in the past couple of years. As we know, the health of the elderly is likely to deteriorate if the aged are hospitalized; thus, there is a need for nurses to ensure that they take proper care of the elderly when they are in their homes. Moreover, other policies determine the transfer of the aged, and they vary from state to state. The number of professionals in the nursing home might also trigger the transportation of the sick into hospitals. Nevertheless, the differences all point in one direction, the number of physicians available per nursing home.
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It is a vital problem as during emergencies the nursing homes have to outsource doctors, as the general physician is unavailable. Such incidences might cause the dysfunction of the nursing home. Furthermore, the cases present a hazard because the outsourced doctors might lack any first-hand information concerning a patient. Also, there is a gap in the information shared as the nursing home residents are taken to a hospital. It is so because, during emergency cases, some vital data might be forgotten at home thus rendering the treatment inappropriate. Such mishaps might lead to the wrong diagnosis. As the nurses outsource other doctors, it becomes a critical decision to the nurses to give the right data especially if the general physician is absent.
Another reason why nursing home transfer comes about is due to a lack of education and expertise in dealing with some complications. Nurses and other medical practitioners might lack the knowledge in dealing with some severe complications (Kada, 2017). When it comes to medical analysis, the nursing homes might require sufficient equipment to deal with harsh conditions. Such incompetence of the homes leads to the transfer of the ill person into a hospital. Also, the lack of medical facilities and equipment is a primal problem in nursing homes. Such issues lead to the improvisation of some nursing homes in the United States. Residents can get medical attention immediately they develop a problem. In some of the homes, they are equipped with operating rooms meant for surgical procedures.
However, there are some solutions to the above issues found in nursing homes. In the case of an inadequate medical practitioner, training nurses and doctors about ailments that deal with the aged. Instead of outsourcing or even transferring the patients, they would provide their medical expertise in the comfort of the nursing homes. Equipping the nursing homes with viable equipment is a step in the right direction. Considering the frailty of the elderly, mobility should be avoided, as they are prone to ailments. Education of the nurses has been collaboration between nursing homes and hospitals in recent times. Such incentives have enabled proper care for the aged thus; a reduction in the transfer of the aged is minimal.
Transfer of residents has been discouraged over time as they are prone to illnesses. Also, the hospital environments do not favor the well-being of the aged. After the improvement of the above issues facing nursing homes, there was a steady upsurge of positive results as residents of nursing homes got all the medical care they required in their nursing homes (Marie, 2015).
References
Kada, O. (2017). Reducing Avoidable Hospital Transfers From Nursing Homes in Austria. PMC . Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433662/
Marie, K. (2015). Mind the Gap: Organizational factors related to transfers of older people between nursing homes and hospital care. NCC . Retrieved from: https://cscu-ncc-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_divauu-259342&context=PC&vid=NCC_V1&lang=en_US&search_scope=NCC&adaptor=primo_central_multiple_fe&tab=default_tab&query=any,contains,nursing%20homes%20and%20transfers&offset=0
