Sometimes life throws a curve ball and the best you can do is bunt. It's been almost two weeks since my nearly 80 yo mother fell at home and dragged herself towards the phone, using her walking stick to knock the handset onto the floor to call 911. Not wanting to alarm her neighbor's she asked that the ambulance drive up without their siren. I received a call from my mom's cell phone and I was surprised to hear a mans voice - the EMT - my mom was being transported by ambulance..... at the emergency department 50 miles from my home, we learned my mom had fractured her hip. Later, as she was being prepped for surgery, nearly 72 hrs after her fall, I was told her fractured hip was also dislocated. I cannot fathom the pain ....
Throughout my mom's hospital stay, surgery, and transfer to rehab - I kept looking for evidence that the healthcare system had adopted awareness of trauma informed practices / best practices for ACE survivors. And, as the daughter of the patient, I did not experience any practices that indicated an institutional awareness of vicarious trauma - from of seeing a loved one in intense pain, confused, and completely dependent. As a public health nurse, I witnessed too many missed opportunities to respectfully provide the patient with care that did NOT compound her traumatic, life changing experience.
A quick PubMed search indicates there is abundant research to support implementation of trauma informed practices with elderly ACES survivors and patients in general.
This ongoing, traumatic experience (post op day 11 and still the physical therapy ordered so long ago - has not begun) ....
Are there any local, state or national hospital / healthcare systems that have implemented trauma informed care practices? From what I've found there is a very strong business case - the return on investment in terms of fiscal benefit are known. So I am left wondering - why haven't trauma informed practices been adopted as the standard of care in local and regional hospital settings?
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