No news good news?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I work in a LTC facility on the skilled / rehab unit. We very often get unstable residents who end up getting readmitted to the hospital prior to their 30 day review date with complications r/t their Dx. Generally, the hospital is pretty good at giving report back to us and our residents are back in the facility w/i the week in stable condition once again.

Recently, though, a couple of my residents whom I especially am concerned about (d/t them being LTC residents who live on the skilled unit) have been admitted to the hospital and unfortunately, seem to have all but dropped off the edge of the world. Calling the hospital does no good as they have no new updates. I look each day for their charts to be in the "new admits" stack, but sadly have yet to see it happen.

So, is it as the old saying goes "no news is good news"? Or, is no news considered bad news? Perhaps I just over think things... or perhaps I am just too attached and looking for things to be OK.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I would say no news is no news. If they are still in the hospital they aren't better.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
I would say no news is no news. If they are still in the hospital they aren't better.
That pretty much says it all.
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Specializes in Med-Surg, OR, ICU.

Or having a very slow recovery, may not return to the "baseline" you once knew

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Or decided to admit somewhere else. It would best to ask your DON or even the admissions person if they have news.

As an aside, if you are having that many re admissions back to the hospital, it will count against you and some hospitals may stop sending people your way.

Perhaps your hospital liaisons and IDT need to reconsider the types of patients the facility is choosing.

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