Assignment task:
Clara Clooney is an 82-year-old woman who has been admitted onto your unit following a fall within her home. When taken to the emergency department after her fall she was diagnosed with CHF exacerbation which the attending physician thought might have been causing her some confusion and dizziness and may have contributed to her fall. Clara is currently requiring O2 via nasal cannula at 2L/min to maintain O2 saturations in the 90s. Clara also suffers from chronic UTIs. Clara lives with her husband in the house they raised their children in, a two-story house in the suburbs. Clara's husband is 86 years old and suffering from moderate dementia and arthritis. Both Clara and her husband require the use of glasses, Clara also requires the use of a hearing aid. Clara and her husband have three children, their daughter lives in B.C. and call her parents frequently; they also have two sons who live in the GTA. The sons also call regularly but both have busy jobs and are unable to visit daily. Neither Clara nor her husband drives anymore so they rely on neighbors, public transit, walking or family to get to stores and appointments. One of their sons usually comes to visit every weekend to take them grocery shopping and check up on them. Clara refuses to have help in the house and does all the cooking and cleaning herself, but they have let their children hire help to do snow shoveling and yard work. This is Clara's third trip to the emergency department following a fall, but her first admission. See the next page for Clara's admission orders.
In general, what are the implications of an older client being on multiple medications (polypharmacy)?
What education would you want to provide to this patient regarding her medication while she is an inpatient? Looking for Assignment Help?
Clara's condition is improving; she has been weaned off oxygen and no longer seems confused, though she is still having occasional episodes of dizziness. The plan is to discharge her home within the next few days; she will remain on all her ordered medications after discharge. What considerations would you want to make as you think about implementing discharge planning for her?