Hospital based treatment

As I have said before hospitals are no place to get any rest. They are also great places to be exposed to germs. Some people think insurance companies kick people out too soon after surgeries but there is something to be said for going home and getting a good night's sleep in your own germ free bed if at all possible.

But there is also the concept of hospital based care vs community based care. We used to have surgery or require extended care and be automatically admitted to the hospital. In the UK, there is now a movement to community based care - basically minimizing hospital stays and treating people in their homes or at local doctor offices. This is seen as a mandatory cost cutting move.

I have experienced this as well as both of my parents. After surgery which left me with a lovely (really yucky) surgical drain, I had a visiting nurse until the drain was removed. The same with my parents, surgery to rehab to home care with a visiting nurse and therapist. Even staying in rehab is not as comfortable as one's own home - shared rooms, shared germs, etc. The only benefit to rehab is getting pain under control and getting more physical therapy - multiple sessions in a day. Visiting nurses and therapists can provide a good level of care in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

There have been times for other surgeries where I have been stuck in a germy, loud hospital room for as much as a week - waiting to get a post surgical infection under control. I am always very happy to go home from the hospital and spend as little time there as possible. In fact often by the time I am ready to leave, I am ready to check myself out before they are ready to discharge me. I think I can be a really bad patient sometimes.