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

The first week at home

Discharge instructions are written for the person leaving, and they assume a body that is stronger than the one leaving. Bathing without help, meals with two hands, stairs three times a day, medications at seven different times. The gap between what the sheet says and what the body can do is where families get stuck.

Non-medical home care sits exactly in that gap. A caregiver can stand in for the bath, fix the meals, keep the house safe, do the shopping, sit with the person for an hour, and drive to appointments. We do not administer medication or provide medical care, and we do not pretend to. What we do is make the ordinary parts of a day survivable so that the medical parts of a recovery can happen on schedule.

Visits start at three hours, and the first visit is usually the one that tells a family whether they need a second, a third, or a live-in caregiver for a stretch of days. Call (303) 757-1777 for a free 20-minute phone conversation, then arrange a free in-home assessment, at the home or by video.

Two hospitals and a clinic, all inside the city

Swedish Medical Center is at 501 East Hampden Avenue, phone 303-788-5000. The city describes it as a Level I Trauma Facility and a 368-bed acute care hospital, and as Englewood's largest employer, so for many local families it is the hospital they already know best.

Craig Hospital is at 3425 South Clarkson Street, phone 303-789-8215, and its own site says it specializes in neurorehabilitation for spinal cord and brain injury. Families leaving a rehabilitation stay come home with a different kind of plan, one that is usually written in exercises and equipment rather than in days of rest.

For the follow-up visits that come after discharge, the city lists Kaiser Permanente's Englewood facility at 2955 South Broadway, phone 303-788-0121, with outpatient services including internal medicine, family practice, lab, radiology and an on-site pharmacy. Having the lab and the pharmacy in the same building saves a trip that a recovering person may not have the energy for.

The ride between downtown and the hospital

The bert shuttle is free, and its regular route is built around exactly this problem. It connects 19 stops among CityCenter Englewood, downtown Englewood businesses, and the medical facilities in and near Craig Hospital and Swedish Medical Center. It picks up only at designated stops, and live tracking is available in the TripShot app under the City of Englewood system.

The stops on the medical corridor are the ones to memorize: 601 E. Hampden Ave., 442 E. Hampden Ave., 11 W. Hampden Ave. and 3423 S. Lincoln St. A daughter downtown can ride a parent to the hospital and ride back without needing a car, which is often the difference between a visit happening and not happening.

bert runs Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and it closes on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, so check current hours before a weekend discharge. Questions and complaints go to the bert line, listed on the city page as 303-762-2347, so confirm the current number when you call. The King Soopers at 101 Englewood Pkwy is also listed as a regular stop on the route.

Meds, groceries, and the pharmacy counter

Discharge medications come with a timing problem. The prescription is sent, the pharmacy is busy, and the ride home is waiting. King Soopers at 101 Englewood Pkwy, Englewood, CO 80110, has a pharmacy at (303) 761-7817 that lists flu, pneumonia, shingles, RSV and COVID-19 vaccines along with health screenings; check current pharmacy hours before you go, since the hours change and the pharmacy closes for a lunch period each day.

Groceries are usually the second-week problem, not the first. By then the person can sit up and eat but cannot drive, and the family is doing the shopping on top of everything else. A caregiver can handle the shopping, the laundry, and the meals while a family member keeps working, which is usually the arrangement that holds together best.

One more thing to check before leaving the hospital: whether the discharge paperwork includes a home health referral, and what that referral covers. Medical care, therapy and daily help at home are billed and scheduled separately, so ask the discharge team which one the family is being signed up for, and which one nobody is.

Weather that changes the plan

Snow is normal here and it changes the shape of a recovery. The National Weather Service says the western and southwestern Denver suburbs average 65 to 70 inches of snow a season, while Denver's long-term average is probably closer to 56 inches. A discharge that lands on a bad road day needs a backup, and so does the caregiver who is supposed to arrive at 8 a.m.

Late spring and summer bring the other weather. Colorado's wildfire season typically runs from May through September, and the state health department lists older adults among the groups at higher risk from wildfire smoke. For someone with new lung trouble, that is a reason to plan the days differently rather than a reason to panic.

The guidance from the state health department for a smoke day is specific and worth keeping: close windows and doors, run the HVAC fan continuously, use a filter rated MERV 13 or higher, and consider a portable HEPA air cleaner. Cloth, surgical and paint masks do not prevent breathing in smoke, so they are not a substitute for clean indoor air. Ask the caregiver to be part of that plan, not just the person in the house.

Getting around with a walker or a wheelchair

RTD's Access-a-Ride is the ADA complementary paratransit service for people who cannot use the fixed-route bus or light rail because of a disability. Reservations must be made one to seven days in advance, and there is no same-day service, which is a detail families learn too late. Coverage is decided address by address within three-quarters of a mile of a fixed route. The admin office number on RTD's page is 303-299-2960, so confirm the current number when you call.

Every RTD vehicle, including Access-a-Ride and light rail, is accessible for wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes and crutches, and operators assist with boarding and securement on request. That matters after a hospital stay, when the safe way to get on and off a bus has changed.

A practical note for discharge day: the shuttle and the paratransit reservation are different systems with different lead times. If a family thinks it might need either one, ask for both the day before discharge, while the paperwork is still on the ward.

Local resources in Englewood

• Swedish Medical Center is at 501 East Hampden Avenue, Englewood, Colorado, phone 303-788-5000; the city describes it as a Level I Trauma Facility, a 368-bed acute care hospital, and Englewood's largest employer. Source
• The city's medical facilities page lists Craig Hospital at 3425 South Clarkson Street, Englewood, Colorado, phone 303-789-8215; Craig Hospital states that it specializes in neurorehabilitation for spinal cord and brain injury. Source
• Kaiser Permanente's Englewood facility is at 2955 South Broadway, Englewood, Colorado, phone 303-788-0121, with outpatient services including internal medicine, family practice, lab, radiology and an on-site pharmacy. Source
• King Soopers at 101 Englewood Pkwy, Englewood, CO 80110, has a pharmacy at (303) 761-7817 that lists flu, pneumonia, shingles, RSV and COVID-19 vaccines and health screenings; check current pharmacy hours, which include a daily lunch closure. Source
• The bert shuttle's regular route serves the hospital corridor with stops at 601 E. Hampden Ave., 442 E. Hampden Ave., 11 W. Hampden Ave. and 3423 S. Lincoln St. Source
• Englewood's free bert shuttle connects 19 stops among CityCenter Englewood, downtown Englewood businesses and the medical facilities in and near Craig Hospital and Swedish Medical Center, with live tracking in the TripShot app; it picks up only at designated stops. Source
• bert runs Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and closes on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas; check current hours. The bert line listed on the city page is 303-762-2347, and the King Soopers at 101 Englewood Pkwy is listed as a regular stop. Source
• The National Weather Service states that the western and southwestern suburbs of Denver average between 65 and 70 inches of snow per season, while Denver's long-term average is probably closer to 56 inches. Source
• Colorado's wildfire season is typically from May through September, and CDPHE lists older adults among the groups at higher risk from wildfire smoke. Source
• CDPHE's clean room guidance: close windows and doors, run the HVAC fan continuously, use a filter rated MERV 13 or higher, and consider a portable HEPA air cleaner; cloth, surgical and paint masks do not prevent breathing in smoke. Source
• RTD's Access-a-Ride is the ADA complementary paratransit service for people who cannot use fixed route bus or light rail due to a disability; reservations must be made one to seven days in advance with no same-day service, coverage is decided address by address within three-quarters of a mile of a fixed route, and the admin office line listed on RTD's page is 303-299-2960. Source
• All RTD vehicles, including Access-a-Ride and light rail, are accessible for wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes and crutches, and operators assist with boarding and securement on request. Source

More resources for Englewood families

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