Make the Season Bright for a Hospitalized
Loved
One
Newswise, December 20,
2011 — There are few holiday presents worse
than a hospital stay. But if a loved one or
friend must be hospitalized this season,
University of Alabama at Birmingham experts
say you can take steps to ensure their
holiday is still merry and bright.
“Being in the hospital
can be distressing for anybody,” says Joshua
Klapow, Ph.D., a UAB clinical psychologist.
“While the psychological impact may be
short-lived, the bottom line is people would
rather be well and home than sick and away.
“The holidays are
about social interactions, the sharing of
emotions and connecting as humans, and there
is nothing written that says this cannot
occur in a hospital setting. Bring the
holidays to the hospital,” Klapow explains.
How to do that, you
ask?
“In addition to the
hospital’s efforts to enhance the holiday
spirit of our patients, like providing music
therapy and collecting toys and stockings
for the children, family and friends can
also take part in a variety of ways,”
explains Jordan DeMoss, assistant vice
president of UAB Hospital.
First and foremost,
visit and spend time with your loved one.
“The simple presence
of familiar faces is sometimes all the
comfort a patient needs while in the
hospital,” DeMoss says.
Provided they are in a
non-intensive care setting, DeMoss offers
these tips for sharing holidays in the
hospital:
• Bring decorations like lights and
stockings to their room when you visit.
• If dietary rules allow, bring in your
loved one’s favorite food or tell a nurse
about their favorite holiday meal; the
hospital chef might be able to prepare
something special.
• Ask care providers if a massage is safe
for the patient; if so, arrange for a
licensed massage therapist to deliver a
“house call” to your loved one in the
hospital.
• Inquire about in-room music therapy or
bring in a stereo and play favorite holiday
tunes.
• Engaging in familiar activities – anything
from knitting to video games – can help
divert a patient’s mind from unfamiliar
surroundings and bring a sense of routine
and happiness.
If you can’t
physically visit the hospital, DeMoss says
to use technology to your advantage.
“Most hospitals have
free Wi-Fi access throughout and Skype is a
free and easy way to connect with loved ones
who are far away,” DeMoss says.
You don’t have to have
know someone in the hospital to spread cheer
to them, says Terri Middlebrooks, R.N.,
nurse manager in the Acute Care for Elders
unit at UAB Highlands Hospital.
“Last year I told my
daughter about a patient on our floor who
had no family or friends to visit him. She
brought a Christmas tree to his room,”
Middlebrooks says. “Soon enough, the whole
staff was participating and bringing him
presents and other goodies.”
Whether it’s a friend,
family member or a stranger, Klapow says to
be sure the patient knows you’re there by
choice, they aren’t ruining your holiday.
“Convey to them that
you are celebrating that they are here with
you. Focus on the meaning of the holiday,
and not so much the environment,” he says.
