Winter 2013 - Meritus Health

YOUR HOME RECOVERY PRIORITIESAs a patient, you own a part of the discharge “to do” list. To preventillnesses from recurring and avoid a return trip to the hospital,follow these simple guidelines.to hear the information several timesbefore it registers.Ask about home medical equipmentand home adjustment requirements.Do you need a walker or oxygendelivered before you arrive home? Doesthe bedroom need to be relocated tothe main level of the home?Know the warning signs. Whatchanges in your condition shouldprompt a call to the doctor’s office?Find out what is normal and not sonormal before leaving the hospital.Learn as much about your conditionas possible. Use recovery time toresearch your condition and askquestions at upcoming doctorappointments.Rest. If there is ever a time to take naps,it is after you’ve been discharged fromthe hospital. Understand that it takesenergy for your body to heal aftersurgery, illness or trauma.Get a lay of the land. Use a simpleform by the U.S. Department of Healthand Human Services to understandbetter the nature of dischargeinstructions. Go to www.ahrq.gov/qual/goinghomeguide.pdf or have afamily member bring the form tothe hospital.Ask for clarification. If you don’tunderstand the instructions, ask yourhealthcare provider to sit down andexplain it to you (or a family member)in a way you understand.You may needFill prescriptions right away. Whetherusing an in-hospital delivery service ordrive-through pharmacy, get themedications you need to stay healthy.Make follow-up appointments withdoctors, specialists and therapists rightafter discharge.Don’t go it alone. Lean on family andfriends for help cooking, bathing,organizing medications and runningerrands.Your medical condition mayrequire short-term help from a skilledhome health nursing service.New to Meritus HealthMohammed Bilgrami, M.D. recently joinedMeritus Health and WillowWood Adult Medicine.Board certified in internal medicine andinfectious disease, Dr. Bilgrami’s interests includecommunity-acquired infections such as pneumonia,osteomyelitis and Lyme disease. In the hospitalsetting, Dr. Bilgrami plans to work with cliniciansin managing a variety of infections, specifically preventing the spreadof potentially infectious pathogens like Methicillin-resistantStaphylococus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (C.diff).Dr. Bilgrami received his medical degree from Shri B M PatilMedical College in Karnataka, India, and completed his residencyat Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Most recently,he finished a fellowship in infectious disease at Loyola UniversityMedical Center in Chicago, Illinois.Neurosurgeon Peter Campbell, M.D., recently joinedthe physicians and clinicians at Parkway Neuroscience andSpine Institute in Hagerstown. Dr. Campbell is a memberof Meritus Medical Center’s trauma team.Dr. Campbell completed an internship and hisneurological surgery residency at Thomas JeffersonUniversity in Philadelphia. During his seven years there,he regularly treated a wide variety of pathology including spinal cordinjury, degenerative scoliosis, pharmacoresistant epilepsy andcerebrovascular disorders.Dr. Campbell also specializes in minimally invasive spine surgeryincluding laminectomy, diskectomy, instrumented fusions andballoon kyphoplasty.Dr. Campbell is a member of the American Association of NeurologicalSurgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and a member of theAmerican Medical Association. He is board eligible with the AmericanAssociation of Neurological Surgeons.MeritusHealth.com 11