Patients Treatment
In my book “A Light in the Midst of Darkness”, pages 72-73, I talk about some examples of ways that a visitor can be “helpful” to patients.
USA TODAY has a link to an article describing the benefits of phone calls to cancer patients by nurses. Here is the link:
• http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-08-18-palliative-cancer_N.htm
I use Annie Jennings PR for radio marketing placement, and they pitched me for this topic, knowing that I have personal experience with this.
Here are several questions that I was given along with their answers:
Q- How does a simple phone call lift a person’s spirits?
A- It shows that someone cares for the hospitalized patient. People always need encouragement.
Q- What other things can you do to brighten the day of a sick loved one?
A- Keep the person in good company. Spend quality time with the individual. Read to them. Visit them. Send the patient a card or gift.
Q- How should you respond to a patient’s worry about money, their future and their family?
A- Try to give them assistance in finding financial aid, like governmental assistance.
Give them monthly checks, or gift cards for groceries. When I was in the hospital, someone gave us a $500 HEB gift card, and another person gave us $200 checks every month until I was able to start working again. My parents were nice enough to get us groceries until I was able to get back to work.
Q- Why does knowing how to answer these questions help the sick?
A- This helps to better understand with whom you are dealing with.
Q- What’s a hospital visitor supposed to do when they enter a patient’s room?
A- Ask if it is OK for you to come in! A visitor doesn’t know what the nurse is doing at the moment, or what the patient is doing. The patient may be getting washed by the nurse or eating, or something else like getting hospital gowns changed.
The visitor should make their visit quick and not linger. Be sensitive to a patient’s needs and situation. Let the patient say, “No, please stay”, don’t just take a seat and make yourself comfortable and gawk at the patient. Read to the patient, pray for the patient and then go.
Don’t overstay your welcome.
Q- How often should you touch base with someone in the hospital?
A- Once a week, whether you stay a few days, a week or longer. Don’t make the patient feel like, “Oh, it’s them again…”
Q- Are flowers still appropriate to give someone who is ill?
A- Yes, it depends on the hospital’s policy, however. For instance, when I was in ICU they wouldn’t allow flowers or balloons, cards were OK though.
Book games, like activity books or puzzle games are good things to give because they help to pass the time.
My brother brought me a small TV, with built in DVD, with some DVD’s of some funny movies that made my day. (that may extreme for most, but a great thing for the me, while in the hospital.)
Gifts cheer a person’s spirit’s.
Q- What are no no’s that only make the patient feel worse?
A- Rude and insensitive nurses, who don’t like their jobs and take it out on their patients is one “no no”.
Other things that make the patient feel worse are: insensitive, arrogant doctors and negative visitors.
Patients are there to recover from surgeries and sicknesses, and should be a priority.
Q- Instead of saying call me if you need anything, how can you be more specific?
A- Follow through on your promises. If you say you’ll bring a meal to a family, bring it at a specific time. If you say you will give financial support, do it.
Patients are generally not going to call you, and tell you they need help. Do their yard work at their house, until they get strong again. Help out where you can and do it without expecting to get rewarded!
Q- Should you insist on helping? Why or why not?
A- Do what you will do, voluntarily. Like I said before, the patient won’t ask you to do something that is necessary.
Give the patient who comes home a Luby’s gift certificate or some other gift card. They don’t spoil! Someone
Someone brought us some food from Taco Cabana, someone else cut our lawn, someone else cut a tree branch in our backyard, and someone else installed some safety handles in our bathroom shower.
There were many folks who volunteered to do things for us. Thank you!
If this has helped you, consider making a donation on the right side of your screen, thanks. Also, feel free to leave you comment below.
