It's the Time of Year...To Take Grandpa to the ER?

Ah, the holidays. They're a time for gathering together, enjoying homemade goodies...and taking Grandpa to the ER?

Dr. Tamara Kuittinen, director of medical education in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, is reporting that, over the years, she and her colleagues have seen definite increases in the numbers of elderly patients seeking treatment at the emergency room during the holidays. They attribute this to two causes:

1. Relatives often don't stay up-to-date with their loved one's health throughout the year. When they get together for the holidays, they're shocked at their elderly family member's condition.


2. Children of aging parents aren't totally aware of how the normal aging process takes its toll.

In both of these situations, Kuittinen said, family members might become alarmed and rush their loved one to the hospital, sometimes needlessly.

Dr. Kuittinen and her colleagues recommend taking the following steps throughout the year to help relatives keep track of their loves ones' health:

• Maintain a database of up-to-date critical medical information about your loved ones.
• Make sure your loved one has easy access to emergency contact numbers.
• Discuss the possibility with your loved one of creating a living will or healthcare proxy.

The doctors also suggest contacting the loved one's physician for advice before taking them to the emergency room to avoid the risk of being exposed to infections or unnecessary tests.