LuvToRead Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 (edited) Let's say you are in this situation: (this is not me btw) You need a medical procedure every 4 weeks indefinitely that requires anesthesia so you need a ride home. It is a 200 mile round trip You are not married and parents are gone You rely on your siblings but they all have their own families, jobs, medical conditions, limited vacation days and just cannot continue to take you to your monthly appt. This has already been going on for years and it is just getting harder to find people to take you. What are your options? Does the hospital keep you overnight every month so you can drive home the next morning? Edited March 26, 2022 by LuvToRead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 Depends on the lucidity of the patient. I would book two nights at a cheap hotel in the area of the hospital and take an uber to the hotel if I was somewhat functional. Otherwise, yeah, I'd have to work it out with the hospital. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 Does the person drive? If they could, is it possible they drive to treatment city and get a Uber ride to a local hotel? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 I agree with bus, uber, or walk to an affordable motel for the night. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted March 26, 2022 Author Share Posted March 26, 2022 (edited) 4 minutes ago, SKL said: I agree with bus, uber, or walk to an affordable motel for the night. 4 minutes ago, SKL said: I agree with bus, uber, or walk to an affordable motel for the night. I hadn't even thought of this. I will have to ask if there is a nearby hotel. Some hospitals won't release a patient to an Uber driver without someone else along. I feel really bad about the situation. I am also wondering if she can't get this procedure done at a closer hospital but I hate to suggest that. Edited March 26, 2022 by LuvToRead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 16 minutes ago, LuvToRead said: I hadn't even thought of this. I will have to ask if there is a nearby hotel. Some hospitals won't release a patient to an Uber driver without someone else along. I feel really bad about the situation. I am also wondering if she can't get this procedure done at a closer hospital but I hate to suggest that. You can also have them talk to the hospital about medical transportation. There are some private companies that operate routes between specific locations or require a specific need in order to use the service. It's not medically trained drivers, but transportation that specializes in getting people to and from clinics/hospitals. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Tiggywinkle Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 (edited) Medical transport. The hospital or clinic social worker can set it up and get insurance approval, otherwise it does become pretty expensive with that kind of mileage. A lot of places won’t release a patient to an Uber driver; that’s something the person would need to check on. It is highly unlikely that insurance will cover an overnight hospital stay just because there’s no one to drive the person home. Edited March 26, 2022 by Mrs Tiggywinkle 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 Ime, they won't release someone to uber alone. It seems like the hospital should have someone to help with figuring this out. Perhaps the social worker? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted March 26, 2022 Author Share Posted March 26, 2022 Thanks for the suggestions! I will pass them on. I am trying to not get too involved but one of the related parties is feeling a lot of guilt. They just can't continue this for various reasons and I was hoping to get some ideas to pass along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 1 hour ago, LuvToRead said: I am also wondering if she can't get this procedure done at a closer hospital but I hate to suggest that. Why? It sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danae Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 A friend of mine in a similar situation (although shorter distance) hired someone off a babysitting/short term nanny website to pick her up after the procedure and stay with her for the eight hours that she was supposed to be with someone. Maybe combine that with the hotel near the hospital? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 I would look to hire someone. A college student with a car might like this job. Or someone who is recently retired. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 2 hours ago, LuvToRead said: I hadn't even thought of this. I will have to ask if there is a nearby hotel. Some hospitals won't release a patient to an Uber driver without someone else along. I feel really bad about the situation. I am also wondering if she can't get this procedure done at a closer hospital but I hate to suggest that. Many places a big hospital will have contracted discounts with nearby hotels. When my ex was having heart issues and we had to travel across state UF Shands had a deal with several places. Also, some insurance companies cover travel related expenses for certain procedures - ours actually covered hotel stay for transplant evaluation. But as others said, the social worker is the person to talk to, the one on staff at the hospital. a friend of mine has that job (at UF Shands, coincidentally enough) and does this stuff. She could also ask the doctor/department doing this procedure if they could reccomend a place closer. Often at a big hospital there is a patient liason who would handle that kind of thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 1 hour ago, EKS said: Why? It sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea. It is a perfectly reasonable idea but it's also so obvious that there's almost certainly a reason they aren't doing it. We live near two nationally ranked Children's hospitals. When neither of them could figure out what was going on with my kid we traveled to a hospital 500 miles away that had the very best specialists for his condition, and could do the specialized procedure he needed. I was surprised how many people asked me if I had considered local hospitals. I would have had to been an idiot not to know that we had local hospitals. Now, it's possible that when this person started the procedure wasn't available locally and that's changed and she needs to redo her research. But it's likely that there's a reason she's traveling. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 3 hours ago, HomeAgain said: You can also have them talk to the hospital about medical transportation. There are some private companies that operate routes between specific locations or require a specific need in order to use the service. It's not medically trained drivers, but transportation that specializes in getting people to and from clinics/hospitals. I was going to say same. I just happened to see this happening yesterday when I was dropping a kid back at their dorm. Their was another student getting out of a transport van with what were clearly those hospital possession plastic bags, IV bandages on his arm and a hospital bracelet still on. The driver got out and made sure he could get down from the van safely and then he was on his own. Seems like using this kind of service to a local hotel would work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 3 hours ago, Baseballandhockey said: It is a perfectly reasonable idea but it's also so obvious that there's almost certainly a reason they aren't doing it. My point was that there is nothing wrong with asking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted March 26, 2022 Author Share Posted March 26, 2022 This is a delicate situation and those who no longer want/can to continue taking her feel very guilty. But having some information already researched is a good idea. It can be worded in a way that doesn't make her feel like she is a burden. I am going to look into the hospital transport idea and see what that would cost. This is something that can be worded as a "just in case someone can't take you here is another option available" which may go over well. Also cost is a factor. She just doesn't have the extra funds but if insurance paid for transportation that would be wonderful. Considering the distance from the hospital I am not sure this is available but well worth looking into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 (edited) I once had a surgery that could be done outpatient, but required nurse monitoring for 12-ish hours afterward. I was taken to this house that was setup for that. It was so much better than being in a hospital. I don't remember how I got there, but it wasn't an ambulance. My nurse was an RN. Although it doesn't sound like this person needs that level of care. Edited March 26, 2022 by shawthorne44 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted March 26, 2022 Author Share Posted March 26, 2022 2 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said: I once had a surgery that could be done outpatient, but required nurse monitoring for 12-ish hours afterward. I was taken to this house that was setup for that. It was so much better than being in a hospital. I don't remember how I got there, but it wasn't a hospital. My nurse was an RN. Although it doesn't sound like this person needs that level of care. You are correct she doesn't really need monitored but that is a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted March 26, 2022 Author Share Posted March 26, 2022 I just did a quick google search and found a medical transport company that would come all this way. I never even considered this option which I why I asked the hive! Thanks everyone!! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 2 hours ago, EKS said: My point was that there is nothing wrong with asking. I agree, bc I've seen two types of situations where you would think this would be obvious and yet it was not. One, when something was not available in the past, and people just haven't checked recently to discover that it now is available much closer to home. Two, when the person is aware that it's now available at a new location, but they trust the current location and are having some fear about switching. Sometimes a bit of reassurance is all they need, and they may not be up to investigating things themselves or making a reasonable decision without a bit of emotional support or added clarity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 27, 2022 Share Posted March 27, 2022 I would ask medical social work at the hospital. Many hospitals have hospitality houses that have dorm type rooms that are connected to the hospital that are cheaper than a hotel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted March 27, 2022 Share Posted March 27, 2022 Uber to a hotel, drive home the next day? Definitely talk to the social worker at the hospital. They may have a solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted March 27, 2022 Author Share Posted March 27, 2022 Talking to a social worker is a great idea! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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