February 2009

One of the scariest thoughts that may enter your mind while preparing for a long or extended stay or trip is, “What will happen if I get sick, hurt or disabled while I’m gone?”   It’s a question as important as any research you might do for your travel, but certainly not as pleasant as thinking about your destination.
Travel insurance for health care, or trip cancellation/interruption is an option, but the reality of what to actually do when it happens is frightening, and the costs of travel in this situation is a gigantic challenge, especially if insurance isn’t available, for one reason or another.
Families often must face a difficult set of decisions for a loved one.  “What is the best way to provide emotional, social/relational/spiritual /family support for the one we love?”  Proximity to family is a huge motivator, often dictated by the expense of travel back and forth by a family member(s), or the cost of a care facility where the patient is located.
Or, “since we live so far away, can the whole family find a better way to care for our loved one closer to home, where we can also provide care and love too?
Satisfying relocation needs for near-death circumstances often becomes a factor.
A medically supervised transfer is a way to satisfy the family’s need, to be closer to the patient, or for the patient to be closer to a next phase, i.e. hospice care, a move into a relative’s home, or to a different medical facility.
We don’t want to think about such things, but life is real, and often includes decisions about transporting loved ones for medical reasons.  It’s comforting to know there are professionals whose life’s work is to help in these circumstances.

It’s difficult to imagine the absence of a lifestyle the morbidly obese person has.  The desperation on the faces of contestents on the TV weight loss program is so sad, and it’s a wonder they could even get to the show’s filming location.  On a recent show, one of the patients, an elderly man, passed out and had to be transported to a hospital. How do they get there?  Looking into this query, I found this to be a major problem for hospitals — getting them in for care, and then providing care for them once they arrive.

A hospital in Milwaukee reported “Much of our new equipment is geared towards safe transfer and care of the obese patients, such as lifts, transfer boards, reclining chairs, transfer devices and wheelchairs that all have higher weight capacities.”

Cost efficient and caring health care providers have an extra burden, beyond the challenges of today’s health care in the USA.   When we can go for care on our initiative, we cannot imagine the challenge of getting someone who cannot even get out of bed.  Heart rendering!!!!!