Short-Term Assisted Living Stay Following Hip Fracture
If your elderly family member sustained a hip fracture and underwent surgery, then a short-term stay at a senior assisted living facility may be beneficial to their recovery. Your loved one's primary care physician can recommend an assisted living center that specializes in post-surgical recovery, however, you can elect to choose a facility on your own that may be more convenient or closer to your home so that you can visit the individual more often.
Here are some benefits aging adults can expect from a short-term senior assisted living stay following surgery for a hip fracture.
Daily Physical Therapy
It is essential that hip surgery patients begin physical therapy as soon as possible after surgery. It helps speed the healing process and strengthens the surrounding muscles of the hip. Physical therapy also helps prevent post-surgical blood clots and wound infections because it promotes circulation and optimal blood flow.
While your loved one may struggle with their therapy exercises on their first day of treatment, as their physical therapy sessions progress, they will feel stronger, have better balance, and have a steadier gait.
The physical therapist will develop an exercise plan based on your loved one's activity tolerance level, cognitive functioning, pain level, and goals. Hip surgery patients often benefit from a physical therapy program of about a couple of months. After the program has been completed, the surgeon may discharge the patient from the senior assisted living facility so that they can go home.
Administer Medications And Perform Wound Care
If your senior loved one lives alone, they will not be able to return home right away following their hip surgery, especially if they have other preexisting medical conditions. A short-term stay at an assisted living facility will help ensure that the person will receive the medical care that they need so that they do not experience a medical event or accidentally fall and re-injure the hip.
The nurses at the assisted living facility will administer the senior patient's prescribed medications such as their post-operative antibiotics and anticoagulants, perform wound care, and change the surgical dressings as needed. They will also monitor the surgical site for signs of infection such as increased redness, drainage, and inflammation, and if a wound infection does develop, the nurse will notify the attending physician.
To learn more about how a short-term stay at a senior assisted living center can help your loved one recuperate after their hip surgery, talk to their physician. When you are well-informed, then you can make better decisions when it comes to your loved one's healthcare choices.
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