Hospital stays typically occur because seniors have to cope with an acute and emergent health issue, a chronic health issue gets worse, or they’re injured or need surgery. Each of these situations could leave seniors needing to make dietary changes when they return home from the hospital. Hospital to home transition care experts can help families understand more about these dietary changes and how to help seniors plan for success.
Seniors Often Face Challenges Related to Nutrition
Even before a hospital visit, seniors may have trouble eating as healthy a diet as they need. Trouble chewing and swallowing, medication side effects, mobility challenges, cognitive difficulties, and more can all make healthy eating feel impossible. Combine these issues with the challenges seniors can experience after a hospital stay, and families may worry about getting enough nutrients into their aging family members.
Understanding the New Dietary Recommendations
Hospital to home transition care experts can help families understand what new dietary recommendations seniors might have after they’re discharged. Having more information about what those recommendations are lets families feel more in control of those changes. They can get help planning meals and working with medical providers to find recipes that work for their seniors’ new dietary recommendations.
Stock Up the House
The next step is to stock up the house with appropriate ingredients. Some of the common ingredients to have on hand include fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables. It’s also good to include a mix of beans, lean meats, poultry, fish, and whole grains. The exact details vary depending on dietary needs. Hospital to home transition care providers help families determine what they can stock for seniors that will meet those new recommendations.
Line Up Assistance with Meal Preparation
The next hurdle after stocking up the fridge and pantry often involves making the meals and snacks. When seniors first get out of the hospital, they may not be up to preparing foods, especially for a new way of eating. Hospital to home transition care providers can help seniors and family caregivers find solutions to that problem. Home care providers can take over the cooking duties, for instance, allowing seniors to focus on recovering and eating nutritious meals.
Remember That it Takes Time to Adjust to a New Diet
Adjusting to a new way of eating doesn’t happen overnight. When seniors need to eat new types of foods or prepare foods in new ways for health reasons, that can be frustrating at first. Even with help, seniors need to have emotional support as they stick to their doctors’ recommendations about what and how they eat. As they start to see results and improvement in their health issues, it might be easier to cope with the changes.
Hospital to home transition care experts can help families and seniors with all sorts of challenges related to returning home from the hospital, not just adjusting their diets. Spending any time at all in the hospital can be disorienting, so seniors need to have comprehensive support when they’re ready to come home.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Hospital to Home Transition Services in Lexington, OH, please contact the caring staff at Central Star Home Health today. Call 419-756-9449
Central Star Home Health is a Trusted Home Care Agency in Ohio including Ashland, Bellville, Bucyrus, Crestline, Galion, Lexington, Mansfield, Marion, Mt. Vernon, Ontario, Shelby, and Willard.
- Plans to Help Seniors Eat Well After a Hospital Stay - April 9, 2025
- Home Care Makes Aging In Place Easier For Your Senior Parent - April 3, 2025
- Gum Disease Symptoms in Seniors - March 26, 2025
