What can do parents to ease the transition from hospital to home? - Patricia Mucia, RN

When a child is transitioning from hospital to home, it's not all that different than when an adult has had an extended hospitalization. You become dependent on people other than your family members—the nurses, in particular, and the nursing assistants, and aides on the unit. They're at your beck and call—they're there before you call them sometimes. And so, when you get home, there can be a feeling of isolation, and there's often a fear and anxiety that goes along with that. And so, anything that you can do to alleviate that fear, any transitional things that you can do, like bringing things from home to the hospital to make the room a little bit more homelike. And then, out-passes if you are within a few miles of your home, going home on a weekend, or going home for an overnight stay is helpful without leaving the security of the hospital yet. Helps making that transition a little a bit smoother. Sometimes, parents want to stay in their child's room when they get home, because that' what they were doing at the hospital. And, sometimes the children are afraid, but more often, the parents are nervous. And so, I would encourage parents to stay in their own room, children to be in their own room. And if you need to use a nursery monitor, or something just for peace of mind, that's often a good idea. Setting alarm clocks to remind you of things that you need to do on time. Whatever you can do to make it the most simple, but homelike would be helpful.