The Thriving at Home approach that we follow at Assisting Hands is designed to keep our clients out of the hospital for emergencies. However, planned procedures often occur at a hospital or a surgery center. Here are some steps to reduce stress during your stay at the hospital.

• Designate an emergency contact in advance.
• Bring necessary documentation, including insurance cards, a list of your medications and health care providers, and documents such as power of attorney, health care proxy, and health care directives.
• Bring leisure activities and hobbies. Whatever you enjoy doing at home can help ease the boredom and stress of a hospital stay.
• Bring chargers for electronic devices. You don’t want to be caught on day two of your stay with a dead cell phone!
• Make sure household tasks are taken care of. If no one will be at home, think about having someone take care of pets, houseplants, yard and garden, bills, mail, etc.
• Catch up on things you have been meaning to do. Responding to emails and cleaning out your junk folder are good ways to pass the time.

Make plans ahead of time even if you do not have a hospital stay planned – that way you will be well prepared if you ever do need to visit a hospital.