Two Darwin aged care facilities have been told to clean up their acts on food safety.
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Two Darwin aged care facilities have been told to clean up their acts on food safety.
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Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer of Md., pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, where he urged House Republicans to end the pro forma session and call the House back into legislative session to negotiate a solution to the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
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President Barack Obama walks past a Marine honor guard as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returned early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Tips to help avoid a preventable hospital return
Patients too often leave the hospital without knowing how to care for themselves, leading to a preventable return. Here are tips to improve your chances of a successful recovery at home:
—Be sure you understand your illness and the care you received in the hospital.
—Ask if you will require help at home. Can you bathe yourself? Climb stairs? Will you need bandages changed or shots? If so, do you have a caregiver to help, or will you need to arrange a visiting nurse?
—Repeat back your care instructions, to be sure you understand them.
—Ask for a written discharge plan that lists your medical conditions, your treatments, and the plan for your ongoing care.
—Get a list of all medications, how to use them, and what to do if you experience side effects. Be sure to ask whether to continue medications you were taking before this hospitalization.
—Ask what symptoms suggest you're getting worse and what to do if that happens, especially at night or during the weekend.
—What follow-up appointments will you need and when? Ask if your hospital will make the appointments for you, and send your records.
—Do you have transportation home, to follow-up appointments, and to the drugstore?
—If you have a regular physician, make sure the hospital sends a report of your hospital stay.
—If you are uninsured or will have difficulty affording prescriptions, a hospital discharge planner or social worker may be able to link you to community resources that can help.
—Get a name and number to call if questions about your hospitalization or discharge arise.
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Sources: Dr. Eric Coleman, University of Colorado in Denver; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Journal of the American Medical Association.
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