Respite Care

MercyOne Elkader Medical Center Respite Care is a program designed to provide relief to caregivers or individuals themselves. The respite care program provides daily, in-hospital attention and health supervision for individuals or caregivers who have a temporary need. Examples of those who would benefit from this program include: (1) Individuals who are unable to provide the necessary care for themselves due to an illness or injury, but do not qualify for inpatient care; (2) A caregiver of an individual who needs temporary relief from their duties; (3) A caregiver that needs a safe place for their loved one while they develop a transition plan from the home to an extended care facility.

 

What better place to entrust the care of your family member than a full-service hospital. MercyOne Elkader Medical Center offers medical services and experienced medical professionals around-the-clock. Should the need arise, all of our diagnostic services, such as laboratory and medical imaging, are available 24 hours a day.

 

A registered nurse will direct patient care in the respite program. A certified nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse or registered nurse will assist with patient care. The nursing staff is on duty 24 hours a day. Bedside reports are held at shift change. The patient and their family are welcome to participate.

 

MercyOne Elkader Medical Center provides daily rounds with the patient’s healthcare team to identify goals for the day, discuss patient’s plan of care, and discharge progress. Patient and family are encourage to be involved. The goal is to improve communication between the health care team, the patient and family. Respite care patients are reassessed every two weeks to evaluate proper discharge planning.

 

Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy services are available. A physician’s order is required for these services. Fees for therapy are separate from the daily room rate and vary according to the type of therapy required. Medicare and/or patient’s private insurance company may pay for these services. Family members are encouraged to participate in therapy sessions to learn their role in the rehabilitation process.

 

The medical provider will order all diets. Meals are prepared by dietary services under the supervision of a registered dietitian. Nourishments are available between meals, if allowed in the patient’s diet plan.

 

Clergy services are available to all patients and their families for emotional and spiritual support, regardless of your religion. The nurse can also contact your personal minister.

 

There is a daily room rate and patients will receive an itemized statement. A prepayment of $1,000 is required at time of admission. A MercyOne Elkader Medical Center financial counselor will meet with the patient and family to discuss payment arrangements. The patient/family will be notified in advance of any change in daily room charges.

 

An important objective of respite care is enabling the respite care patient to be as independent as possible. While on respite care, the staff of MercyOne Elkader Medical Center, will help patients gradually assume increasing responsibility for their care in order to help them accomplish their personal objective.