Discharge decisions often move fast, and the adult child who lives three states away usually hears about it last. This checklist helps you ask the right questions from a distance and get the logistics ready before your parent comes home, whether from the hospital or from a rehabilitation stay.
Before the discharge date
- Ask who the discharge planner or case manager is, and how to reach them.
- Make sure your parent has signed whatever authorization lets the team talk with you.
- Ask where your parent is going next: home, home with home health, or a rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility.
- Ask what equipment is needed (walker, shower chair, hospital bed) and who is ordering it.
- Ask for the medication list and what changed from before.
- Ask which follow-up appointments are needed and whether they are already scheduled.
Getting the home ready
- Clear walking paths and remove loose rugs.
- Check the route from bed to bathroom, including lighting at night.
- Confirm the bathroom is usable with the new equipment.
- Make sure someone can let home health or deliveries in.
The first week home
- Confirm home health, if ordered, actually made the first visit.
- Check that prescriptions were filled and the old list was updated.
- Confirm the follow-up appointment and how your parent is getting there.
- Decide who is checking in daily, and how updates reach the rest of the family.
When you need someone local
This is one of the most common reasons families call us. We coordinate the nonclinical side of hospital and rehabilitation transitions in Walton, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa Counties. See Out-of-Town Family Support.