Document Type

Letter to the Editor

Publication Date

5-9-2013

Comments

Op-Ed published in the Los Angeles Times.

This is adapted from an article in the November issue of Health Affairs.

Abstract

In 2011, my husband, Eric, a trial attorney, was felled by a brain stem stroke just before he was to board a flight at O'Hare in Chicago. He was just 53 years old with no prior health conditions or problems. From the outset, we knew his recovery and rehabilitation would be long and difficult. We didn't know that his transition to post-hospital medical care would be just as challenging.

I'm the dean and a professor at the Jefferson School of Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and I'm a registered nurse. I thought my training and access to resources would aid in managing my husband's care. Instead, our experience showed me the many flaws in the world of medical "care coordination" and "transition management." And it made me more concerned about how anyone can deal with the demands put on them by our healthcare system.

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