Stroke: Hospital Discharge
Stroke: Hospital DischargeYou have made progress since your stroke and now it is time to continue your recovery andrehabilitation outside of the hospital.When it comes to getting discharged after your stroke, there are some important things you’ll do toprepare and questions to answer, including where you will go and what type of therapy you will need.“What our team does is identify the care needs, identifies barriers, and assesses what is safefor a discharge.”Where you will go when you leave the hospital depends on a few things: The assessment by yourhealthcare team of the extent of damage to the brain. What type of therapy is needed? How quicklyare you progressing? How well can your family safely and realistically assist in your care? And whatwill your insurance cover?Some patients are able to go home for recovery after their stroke. In this case, your healthcare teammay recommend visiting nurses and therapists come to your home to continue your rehabilitation.You may also attend out-patient therapy sessions.You might benefit from a more intensive therapy program depending on your specific needs. Yourhealthcare team may recommend that you go to a special inpatient facility for rehab.Or they might recommend a Skilled Nursing Care Facility that provides care for patients who are notwell enough to be discharged to go home and cannot do the more intensive therapies.Whatever rehabilitation environment is recommended for you, it will help you get the specific care youneed.Before you are discharged, you will also need to go over some safety concerns with your healthcareteam.Because your coordination and balance may have been affected by your stroke, your care team canshow you ways to reduce the chance of falling.You may find getting in and out of bed difficult.Using the bathroom can be a challenge as well because of the balance needed.Talk to your care team about the best ways to get up and down so you don’t fall.And some changes in the home might be needed to keep it safe.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG10010B EN StrokeHospitalDischarge.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 2Stroke: Hospital DischargeYou may also have restrictions on what you can and cannot do. Go over these with your healthcareteam, and during your recovery be sure to balance activity with rest to continue healing andrecovering.If you’re going to an outpatient rehabilitation program, it’s important to keep all of your appointmentsand attend all of your therapy sessions.Your rehab team might include any of the following: A physiatrist to determine how your treatmentplan is working. A speech therapist. A physical therapist. An occupational therapist. A psychologist.And your primary care doctors.Make sure you know the dates and times of these appointments. If you think you may forget, makesure to write them down or ask a family member to help you remember.You’ll get a lot of information at discharge so don’t be afraid to ask your healthcare team to explaineverything clearly and to write things down.Since you have had a stroke it is important to remember you are now at a higher risk for havinganother one.So before you leave the hospital, make sure you understand your personal risk factors for stroke andthe symptoms of a new stroke. Learn what steps you can take to reduce these risk factors.Make sure you go to all of your follow-up appointments. Your therapists are there to help. And makesure you take all your medications as prescribed.By following these steps you can reduce your risk of another stroke while your recover and heal.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG10010B EN StrokeHospitalDischarge.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 2 of 2
© The Wellness Network
