Even a recent positive test for COVID-19 is not actually enough to keep someone in the hospital. One woman recounted the experience she had with her mother, who had recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Dawn Aumiller’s mother, Eleanor Hughes, had tested positive Thursday after coming in with chest pain earlier in the week. Hughes has also battled various health problems since February.
Aumiller said Holy Cross Hospital now tells her that her 70-year-old mother is ready to go home.
“In retrospect, what they’re asking is to send someone home before they have any severe symptoms,” Aumiller said, adding that she believes severe symptoms are likely, given her mother’s medical history.
Aumiller is also concerned for her own health if her mother comes to stay with her.
Holy Cross Health said patients who tested positive for COVID-19 can be stable and medically ready for discharge.
For patients who “meet the medical and social criteria for being able to go home or to another level of care, that is the most appropriate thing for them to be doing, rather than having people convalesce for a longer period of time in a hospital-based environment,” said Kristin Feliciano, chief strategy officer for Holy Cross Health.
One of Hughes’ insurers, Kaiser Permanente, issued a statement about these types of cases:
“When we discharge a patient from the hospital with COVID or any other condition, the decision is made by the care team members based on the patient’s condition and care needs. The patient should be stable and meet other criteria based on his or her illness/condition. In many cases, including COVID, a hospital is not the best place for a stable patient.”
The statement added that discharged patients are monitored through a virtual home care program.
“If you’re ever unsure that you should be being discharged from a hospital, you can always ask for a meeting with the discharge office or with their social worker, depending on what they’re calling that particular job function in the hospital,” said Caitlin Donovan, with the nonprofit Patient Advocate Foundation.
“If you’re on Medicare, you also have the right for a fast appeal, which will be in 24 hours,” Donovan said.
Aumiller is in the process of appealing.
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