Home care after a hospital stay in Aurora, CO: the first weeks at home

Ask these before the discharge papers are signed

Write the answers down, or better, have a second family member on speakerphone taking notes. What medications changed, and which ones replace others? What food is allowed and what is off the list? Which follow-up appointments matter most in the first two weeks, and who schedules them? What symptoms send you back to the emergency room, and what symptoms are expected? Is the person safe alone for four hours?

That last question decides everything else. If the honest answer is no, you now know the shape of the help you need before you get home and start guessing. Ask the discharge planner whether the hospital has a social worker available for that conversation; at a large campus they usually do.

One more practical item, easily missed: ask whether the discharge pharmacy can fill the prescriptions before you leave the building, and whether any of them can be delivered to the house. The hour spent chasing a medication across town is the hour the person is home, tired, and waiting.

Aurora's hospitals, named as locations

Aurora holds one of the state's largest medical campuses. UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital sits at 12605 East 16th Avenue. The CU Anschutz Medical Campus, at 13001 East 17th Place, houses six academic health schools and describes the presence of University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado as making it one of the nation's leading academic medical centers.

Also inside the city: The Medical Center of Aurora, an HCA HealthONE hospital at 1501 S Potomac St., phone 303-695-2600, and the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System medical center at 1700 North Wheeling Street, which is where veterans in Aurora often do their follow-up care. These are listed as locations only; pick the facility your discharge papers name.

The first week home

The first week runs on three tracks: medications, food, and movement. Set one alarm for medications and keep the pill organizer in the same spot every day. Plan simple meals the person will actually eat, and expect appetite to come back unevenly. And walk, slowly, every day the weather allows; the discharge instructions usually say as much, in gentler words.

If cooking is the piece that will fall apart, Arapahoe County lists Nourish Meals on Wheels as a senior resource at 303-798-7642. Meals on Wheels eligibility generally requires the recipient to be 60 or older. Our caregivers cover meals and hydration at home as part of non-medical care, alongside bathing, dressing, and light housekeeping.

Nights, and the part of recovery that gets skipped

Nights surprise people. The hospital is loud and lit; the house is quiet, and the person wakes at two in the morning unsure where they are. Expect a few rough nights. A nightlight in the hallway and a bathroom light left on do more than any gadget, and a glass of water and a calm voice at two a.m. usually settle more than a debate about what time it is.

If the person was getting up safely before the admission and is not anymore, that is worth writing down and mentioning at the follow-up appointment. Changes after a hospital stay can be temporary, and the doctor is the one who tells you which kind this is.

Getting to follow-up appointments

Rides are where recovery plans quietly fail. RTD's Access-a-Ride is the system's ADA complementary paratransit service, a shared-ride option for people whose disability keeps them from using regular bus or light rail. Reservations must be made one to seven days in advance; there is no same-day service, and trips must start and end within three-quarters of a mile of a fixed route. The Access-a-Ride administrative office is 303-299-2960.

Arapahoe County also lists DRCOG Choice Services transportation at 303-480-6700 among its senior resources. For appointments across the metro, book early in the week, not the morning of; the no-same-day rule is the one families forget. And our caregivers can drive to follow-up visits as part of non-medical care, which for many households is the simplest solution in the first month.

The house itself, for the first month

Before the person comes home, fix the three things recovery leans on: a grab bar or a steady chair in the shower, a clear path from the bed to the bathroom with no loose rugs in it, and a phone that stays within reach, including a way to call for help from the floor. Move laundry, mail, and anything worth walking for onto one floor for a month.

Recovery at Aurora's altitude deserves a mention too. Wikipedia's figures put the city's elevation at about 5,558 feet, varying nearly 1,000 feet, from roughly 5,285 feet where Sand Creek crosses the northwest limit to about 6,229 feet on the southern Douglas County border. People who spent the recovery week in a hospital on the same campus rarely notice; people flying in from sea level should take the first walks slower than planned. The National Weather Service's Denver climate page puts the average July temperature at 75.1°F, so summer walks are best done early. For a flat place to walk, the Tollgate Creek Trail runs from Quincy Reservoir north to connect with the HighLine Canal Trail at the DeLaney Farm, and the Piney Creek Trail runs by bike or foot from Cherry Creek State Park through Southeast Aurora. Recovery walks do not need to be long to count.

County offices worth knowing about

Arapahoe County Human Services has an office inside Aurora at 14980 E. Alameda Drive, phone 303-636-1130, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (check current hours before you go). This is where questions about benefits and ongoing support land.

One number belongs on the refrigerator during a recovery stretch: the county's Adult Protection Services hotline, 303-636-1750, which covers abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of elderly adults and adults with disabilities. Financial exploitation spikes around hospital stays, when new account access and new helpers appear at once. Call if something feels wrong; you do not need proof to call.

Where non-medical home care fits

Non-medical home care covers the hours between appointments: meals, medication reminders, bathing and dressing, transportation to follow-up visits, and light housekeeping. It does not change dressings, give injections, or do anything a visiting medical professional handles. Knowing that line keeps the family from expecting too much of one helper, and from paying for a skill level the person does not need.

We start every family with a free 20-minute phone consultation and a free in-home assessment at the home or by video, with no obligation. There are no long-term contracts, so care can cover the month after surgery and step down after. Aurora families reach us at (303) 757-1777, where a real person answers.

Local resources in Aurora

• University of Colorado Hospital is at 12605 East 16th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado (address via Wikipedia; UCHealth's own location pages would not render for automated fetch — confirm on uchealth.org). Source
• The CU Anschutz Medical Campus is at 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO 80045, houses six academic health schools, and names UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado as campus partners, calling the result one of the nation's leading academic medical centers. Source
• HCA HealthONE Aurora (The Medical Center of Aurora) is at 1501 S Potomac St, Aurora, CO 80012, phone 303-695-2600. Source
• The VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System medical center is at 1700 North Wheeling Street, Aurora, CO 80045-7211. Source
• RTD Access-a-Ride is RTD's ADA complementary paratransit service; reservations must be made one to seven days in advance, there is no same-day service, and trips cover locations within 3/4 mile of RTD's local fixed-route transit system. Source
• The Access-a-Ride Administrative Office phone is 303-299-2960. Source
• Arapahoe County lists DRCOG 'Choice Services transportation' at 303-480-6700 among senior resources. Source
• Arapahoe County lists 'Nourish Meals on Wheels' at 303-798-7642 as a senior resource. Source
• Arapahoe County Human Services is at 14980 E. Alameda Drive, Aurora, CO 80012, phone 303-636-1130, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (check current hours). Source
• Arapahoe County's Adult Protection Services hotline, 303-636-1750, covers abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of elderly adults and adults with disabilities. Source
• Wikipedia gives Aurora's elevation as 5,558 ft and states the city varies nearly 1,000 feet, from 5,285 ft where Sand Creek crosses the northwest limit to 6,229 ft on the southern Douglas County border. Source
• Denver's average July temperature is 75.1°F (1991-2020, DIA data). Source
• The Tollgate Creek Trail goes from Quincy Reservoir north to connect with the HighLine Canal Trail at the DeLaney Farm. Source
• The Piney Creek Trail runs by bike or foot from Cherry Creek State Park through Southeast Aurora. Source

More resources for Aurora families

• Dementia Care at Home in Aurora, CO
• Respite Care for Family Caregivers in Aurora, CO
• How to Choose a Home Care Agency in Aurora, CO
• Paying for Home Care in Aurora, CO