Hospitals

No one wants to be admitted to a hospital unless it’s absolutely necessary. Between the often long waits in the emergency department, the lack of privacy, and the onslaught of professionals coming in and out of your hospital room, it’s usually not a pleasant experience. Sometimes there’s no choice: a…

You may know her best as the author of the New York Time’s best-seller, The Patient’s Checklist: 10 Simple Hospital Checklists To Keep You Safe, Sane And Organized. She’s an expert on everything you need to consider if you or a loved one becomes hospitalized. But writer Elizabeth Bailey also…

Perhaps one of the biggest mysteries of the coronavirus outbreak has nothing to do with the virus itself, but rather what may be “collateral damage” from the pandemic: that is, patients who need important non-COVID-19 medical care but are not showing up at physician’s offices or hospitals. Given the guidance…

Certainly, there’s nothing new about ageism in our society. Bias against older individuals, and treating seniors as second class citizens, is something many of us have experienced as we’ve entered our later years. Perhaps what’s new, however, is the public airing of attitudes that were previously kept private, due to…

No doubt few of us like to think about being admitted to a hospital. But in today’s environment, when the health of potentially thousands of older adults is at risk, it’s important to consider what a hospitalization can do to an older patient, even one in relatively good health prior…

Emergency departments (ED) are hardly ever tranquil. But for senior citizens, the ED can be overwhelming and, in many cases, can actually do more harm than good. Many seniors are vulnerable and do not have the stamina to wait in an emergency department, where it’s not uncommon to wait an…