Is there an agency who can send someone to stay with her at night while she is in the hospital? She is afraid at night.

When I had hip surgery I was in a single person room (thats all they had) and my husband slept on the window seat and they even brought him a blanket. I now relize he was at early on dementia and at that time we had no idea. Anyway had no orders from doc nor complaints.. Probably depends on hospital.

I work for an agency that does sit and cater to the clients needs. I staff the clients and my cg`s are extensively checked out ie: state and local criminal background check and a 9 panel drug screening. We provide non personal care at $17.00 an hour. We are also licensed, bonded and insured.

When my mom was in te hospital we couldn't get a sitter unless we paid for it because Medicaid will not pay for it. We ended up taking shifts and staying with her. Her last stay in the hospital we requested a room by the nurses station and to keep the door open , that was a huge help.

I totally agree with janny52. Tell the doctor what you and your Mom needs. My Mom is in hospice and she tried many times to get out of bed so hospice called me and asked if they can move Mom into a room that is right across the nurses station and I said yes, and was actually thrilled. This was the most blessed move for my Mom. She loves seeing all the staff work and she's even made friends with all of them and tells them in a joking way that she's going to give 'em all lickens cause she loves them so much. She waves to them even if she doesn't need anything and the whole staff have fallen in love with her.
If you can afford a caregiver to sit with her during the night that would be perfect. I had caregivers for Mom at home before she went into hospice. The agency charged 24.00 an hour, but we had to fire them because one of the girls was like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. The church I go to has one lady who trains caregivers and I finally went to her. So I had two perfect caregivers who charged only 18.00 and 19.00 p/h!!! And they did a far more perfect job than the agency caregivers. My friend is a Christian and all her caregivers must be Christians too. They are not employed by any agency, but are self employed, that's why they charge less than an agency and can make their own hours. That was the best move that the Lord led me too. Please check with your church [if you go to one] or other Christian churches to see if they have anyone on staff, or can refer you to someone in their church or other churches that they know. I am sure that you will be able to find someone that way. They would love to sit with your Mom at night, read to her, talk story with her, pray with her....or do anything your Mom wants to do. I don't see any reason why a hospital would not agree to this......its not like the CG is going to fall asleep on the chair [which they do not and would never do] or anything like that. If it is a part of your Mom's medical care, and your doctor approves [I do not see any logical reason why he wouldn't since it would be theraputically and medically great for your Mom and help her greatly, and the doctor knows this] I think that it could be an easy process. I hope this helps you. Please check it out.

Yes, there are agency that respond and do overnight sitting. Such as the one I work for we will sit/assist/comfort etc. whatever the need maybe. And it is on an hourly basis depending on the hours needed.

If you want the hospital to pay for it you tell them that your Mother is a fall risk and requires a 1:1 during the night. The hospital bean counters are not going to like this but who cares. The MD has to write an order for a 1:1 - which they will do if you tell them your Mother is a FALL RISK. Use those exact words. Hospitals are terrified of someone falling in their care because if there is an injury while in the hospital medicare will not reimburse. The other option is to pay for it out of your own pocket. I know of what I speak because I am a nurse who used to staff for the hospital I worked in. It is all a numbers game. Most important to tell her MD and have it put in the chart. The other thing you can do is talk to the charge nurse on duty, tell her your concerns, and mention that you want your Mom flagged as a fall risk. Also ask her to call the doctor for a 1:1 during the night. Do not back down. All they are worried about is $$, you are caring for your relatives health. It is all about documentation. Good luck to U!

Don't ask. Tell your doctor to put in an order and tell the nurses that someone needs to be in the room with your mother at night.
The last time my mother was in the hospital (2 years ago), that is what I did. I told them that my mother roams, pulls out her IVs and doesn't understand where she is because of dementia.
They placed her across from the nurses station and kept the curtains and door open at all times as I instructed.
She still managed to pull out her IV once in the daytime.
For my own comfort I went to the hospital late at night to make sure someone was with her. There was although my mother wasn't happy about having a baby sitter. She complained that the woman was sitting by her bedside all night and she didn't know who she was ;-)

Chritz - we're kinda on the same page imho. The hospitals don't want and usually won't allow someone to hang in the patients room as a "sitter" unless they are with a reputable company (bonded, insured). Social services usually has a list of those

Igloo572 that's not true at all. Most hospitals encourage sitter services because it takes the pressure off their already overloaded staff--they just want families to hire reputable companies. But you could call around to home care companies such as ones like Interim HealthCare who helped my mom. They were great! I caution about trying to hire someone yourself--that's what hospitals don't like because those individuals YOU would need to insure (and pay the person's taxes, and find a replacement if they call out sick)--but if they are an employee of a reputable company the employees are trained, supervised and insured which takes the pressure off you. And they handle all the scheduling, background checking, drug testing, etc.....the extra few dollars is worth not having the hassle.

Also not sure if your dad was a Veteran but if he was your mom could qualify for spousal survivor benefits through the Veterans Aide & Attendance program which could cover the cost of the sitter service as well as some at home care for when she is discharged from the hospital (the Interim Healthcare office we used helped us file the papers and everything!). Good Luck!

The prior suggestions are certainly steps in the right direction. Due to the limits of hospital staffing, time availability, and job responsibility; In times of need, Non-Medical Home Care Agencies, such as ComForcare, will send a Companion or a Home Health Aide or a Certified Nursing Assistant to be right by your loved one.

There are many agencies out there that will send someone to sit with your mom. We did this for both of my parents when they were in the hospital. They aren't cheap but they are wonderful. Call around and get quotes from different places. They can usually send someone on very short notice -- we had someone come to the hospital within a couple of hours of our call. We felt it was well worth the cost to know that mom or dad was looked after every moment and felt secure.

Most hospitals will not allow an outside sitter or caregiver to stay due to liability issues. You need to check with social services to see what their policy is and if they have a list of sitters who are acceptable (bonded, insured) for them.

It helped my mom when they put her directly across from the nurses station and left the door open. One night, a nurse even came in and sat with her for a while.

I agree with above about asking nurse or social worker if someone can sit with your mother. However, they often don't have enough staff available for this. And hiring a private caretaker would be quite expensive.

If they can't provide a sitter, perhaps if she isn't already, she could be moved to a room near the desk where there is more activity and she would see more people even out in the hallway. Hope something can be done. Blessings to you.

If she is in the hospital there should be somone who can sit with her. They had someone with my dad for 4 days at 24 hours a day. He does have a bit of Alzheimers though and would wander out in the hall to see where someone was all the time cause he got anxiety being along. Ask the nurse or social worker where your mom is staying if someone can be a sitter.