First Week Home After the Hospital: Three Blanks
First week home after the hospital: circle the jobs that still need a person, match the drug list to the bottles, and write the appointment date.
ElderHearth offers general information, not medical advice. Do not start, stop, or change a dose from this page. The written instructions in the discharge packet override anything general, this page included.
The first week home after the hospital is three blanks on the discharge checklist: which activities still need a person, which drugs and doses continue, and the appointment date you write in. Circle the jobs, set the drug list next to the bottles the same night, and copy the date and time from the written instructions. If a line is empty, call the discharge planner or the doctor's office and write down what they say.
A hip replacement has its own week on coming home after hip replacement. This page is the form, the cabinet, and the date line.
Which jobs still need a person?
Used as a hospital discharge checklist for elderly parents, the December 2025 booklet (CMS Product No. 11376) is a set of questions for the staff, filled in during the stay. On the activities item it says to Ask if you're ready to do the activities below. Circle the ones you need help with, and discuss your concerns with the staff.
The lines under that item come in three groups: bathing, dressing, using the bathroom, and climbing stairs; cooking, food shopping, house cleaning, and paying bills; and driving to doctors' appointments and picking up prescriptions. Circle the ones that still need a person, and talk through those circles before discharge.
The caregiver block on the same form asks whether the person helping can give that help, and it asks them to pick up prescriptions and any food for a special diet before discharge, so the first afternoon is not another trip. If nobody can cover a circled job, say so to the discharge planner while you are still at the hospital. If the discharge date itself is too soon, the Medicare fast appeal has its own deadline, and the steps are on hospital discharge appeal.
Which bottles stay, and which doses changed?
The medications to check the first night home from the hospital are the bottles already in the cabinet, set beside the new bag from the pharmacy. The checklist says to Review your drug list (page 5) with the staff and ask which items and dosage (or strength) you should continue to take after you leave.
That list is prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and herbal supplements, including what was taken at home and any change made during the stay. A drug the hospital stopped can still be in the cabinet the night you get home. Leave the bottle where it is until the prescriber or the pharmacist says what to do with it. Do not start, stop, or change a dose from this page.
The weeks after that night, the master list and the brown-bag review, are in how to organize an elderly parent's medications.
What date goes on the appointment line?
How soon is a follow-up appointment after hospital discharge? The checklist tells you to Ask for written discharge instructions (that you can read and understand) and a summary of your current health status. Bring this information and your drug list to your follow-up appointments.
The appointment block on that form is labeled My appointments, with columns for Appointment, Date, and Time. Write the date and the time the instructions already give. If either line is still empty, call the doctor's office or the discharge planner and write what they give you. Take the instructions and the drug list to that visit.
Is home health the person who stays?
Does Medicare cover home health after a hospital stay? The December 2025 checklist asks where care will happen after discharge and names home health care as an example, then tells you to say what you prefer. The hours, and what that benefit pays, are on Medicare's home health services page.
On that page, In most cases, "part-time or intermittent" means you may be able to get skilled nursing care and home health aide services up to 8 hours a day (combined), for a maximum of 28 hours a week. The next line says you may be able to get more frequent care for a short time, less than 8 hours a day and up to 35 hours a week, if the provider decides it is necessary.
A person qualifies by needing part-time or intermittent skilled services and by meeting both homebound conditions on that page. Leaving home is not recommended because of the condition, or leaving takes help (a cane, wheelchair, walker, crutches, special transportation, or another person) because of an illness or injury. And the person is normally unable to leave home, and leaving takes a lot of effort. A doctor or other provider, the page's example is a nurse practitioner, has to see the person in person, confirm the need, and order the care. A Medicare-certified home health agency provides it. The page says you will not qualify for home health services if you need more than part-time or intermittent skilled care.
Aide time sits on the skilled side of the same page. Part-time or intermittent home health aide care is listed for help with walking, bathing or grooming, changing bed linens, and feeding, when skilled nursing, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, or occupational therapy is happening at the same time. Bathing help in that list is tied to the skilled visit.
What Medicare does not pay for on this benefit is 24-hour-a-day care at home, home meal delivery, homemaker services such as shopping and cleaning when they are unrelated to the care plan, and personal care such as bathing, dressing, or using the bathroom when personal care is all the care needed. The costs section says you pay nothing for covered home health services. Covered medical equipment is separate: after the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount, and the page notes that other costs may apply. If the benefits come through a Medicare Advantage plan, ask the plan what it pays.
A circled job that is overnight presence, cooking, or a bath with no skilled visit beside it is a person in the house. What that person costs is in in-home care for seniors. If the gap is meals or a ride, the last page of the checklist points to community services such as home-delivered meals and rides to appointments.
Who do you call if something looks wrong?
Who to call the first week after hospital discharge is the name written in the notes column. The checklist says to Ask about complications to watch for and what to do about them. It also asks you to write the names and phone numbers of people to call with questions. If that note is blank when you get home, call the hospital before the weekend and ask what to watch for after this admission, and what to do if it shows up.
Warning signs that belong to a hip replacement stay on the hip page.
| Line on the December 2025 checklist | What to do with it this week |
|---|---|
| Activity circles | Mark bathing, dressing, the bathroom, stairs, cooking, shopping, cleaning, bills, and rides. If nobody can do a circled job, say so before the car leaves. |
| Drug list | The same night, set it beside the bottles, including over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Ask before any dose changes. |
| Appointment columns | Write the date and the time from the written instructions. If a line is blank, call and write what they give you. |
| Equipment question | Ask whether something such as a walker is needed, whether Medicare covers it, and who arranges delivery. |
| Complications note | Ask what to watch for and what to do, and write the names and numbers. If the note is blank at home, call the hospital. |
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon should the follow-up be after a hospital discharge? Write the date and time already on the written instructions, or call and write what they give you if a line is blank.
What should the family do the first week an older parent is home from the hospital? Circle the activities that still need a person, using the three groups on the December 2025 checklist: bathing, dressing, the bathroom, and stairs; cooking, food shopping, house cleaning, and bills; and rides to appointments plus picking up prescriptions. The same night, set the drug list beside the bottles, including over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and ask the prescriber or pharmacist before any dose changes. Write the appointment date and time from the instructions, or call and write what they give you if a line is blank. If the notes on complications are blank, call the hospital before the weekend.
Does someone have to stay the first night? The checklist asks which activities still need help, and whether the caregiver can give that help, including picking up prescriptions before discharge. When the instructions for this admission name a number of nights, follow that number. A hip replacement's staffing line is on coming home after hip replacement.
Does Medicare pay for home health after a hospital stay? It can, when a doctor or other provider has seen the person in person, confirmed the need, and ordered care from a Medicare-certified agency, and when the person needs part-time or intermittent skilled care and meets the page's homebound conditions. In most cases you may be able to get that skilled care and aide time together for up to 8 hours a day, for a maximum of 28 hours a week, and for a short time you may be able to get more frequent care, less than 8 hours a day and up to 35 hours a week, if the provider decides it is necessary. Aide help with bathing is listed with that skilled care. A person who stays the night, or a bath with no skilled visit beside it, is priced on the in-home care page.
The sheet on the fridge
Put the checklist on the fridge. The circles, the dose column, and a date are the first week home after the hospital. The house can work from that sheet.
Sources
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Your discharge planning checklist, Product No. 11376, December 2025. Read 2026-10-10.
- Medicare.gov, Home health services coverage. Read 2026-10-10.