Hospitals: Avoiding Injury

The hardest but most effective thing to do is to be there in the hospital with any loved one who is a hospital patient. That means 24/7. We can all find a million reasons not to do it, but that’s the first step that needs to be done: have a lay advocate at the patient’s bedside at all times.

Simple ways to make it easier:

• Hire a sitter — or private duty nurse if you can afford one — to fill in times when you cannot be there.
• Have family members take shifts.

You don’t need to know one single thing about medicine to be an effective lay advocate at a family member’s hospital bedside. You just have to have an inquisitive mind and a willing heart.