You’ve been waiting for the news that your senior parent is medically stable and ready to go home. The doctors say discharge from the hospital is coming soon. But then…nothing happens. The hours turn into days, and your loved one is still in their hospital bed, medically cleared but going nowhere.

With Calgary hospitals currently managing overflow capacity, discharge delays have become increasingly common for ageing patients. Even when someone is medically ready to leave, the path home can involve unexpected wait times and coordination challenges.

Beyond the frustration, these delays carry real risks. Extended hospital stays increase seniors’ chances of hospital-acquired infections, accelerated muscle loss, and cognitive decline. Research shows that for every day spent in a hospital bed, a senior can lose up to 5% of their muscle mass.

Your concern is justified.

Let’s look at the three most common reasons for hospital discharge delays in Calgary and, more importantly, what you can do to get your parent home sooner.

Your elderly parent has been medically cleared by their care team. But discharge from the hospital doesn’t happen immediately. The hospital needs to coordinate the next phase of care, and that often means waiting.

With Calgary hospitals managing overflow capacity, discharge
coordination can take time even after medical clearance.

In Alberta, discharge requires coordination across multiple healthcare team members.
Before your parent can leave, various specialists need to sign off. Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and others all need to confirm readiness and coordinate next steps.

With current system capacity in Alberta’s hospitals, getting these sign-offs aligned can take time. The hospital discharge planner is working hard to coordinate these moving parts, but they’re managing multiple patients simultaneously.

Meanwhile, your parent waits. They may be lying in bed more than moving, which accelerates muscle loss and reduces their confidence in their own mobility. Even if hospital physiotherapy worked with them initially, once they’re medically stable, the focus shifts to acute patients who need urgent intervention.

The gap between “medically ready” and “actually discharged” often comes down to system coordination, not medical need.

Getting your loved one home safely isn’t as simple as signing discharge papers and helping them to the car. There’s a complex web of coordination required, and families are often navigating it for the first time while under significant stress.

Here’s what typically needs to happen before discharge from the hospital:

• Medical equipment must be arranged. Whether that’s a walker, a raised toilet seat, or a hospital bed for the home.
• Prescriptions need to be filled and reconciled with existing medications.
• Follow-up appointments with specialists or the family doctor must be scheduled.
• Someone needs to assess whether the home environment is actually safe for your parent’s return.

Then there’s the question everyone’s asking: what happens when we get home?
For many Calgary families, private home care becomes the solution that bridges these gaps.

Research shows that readmission rates for seniors can reach 8.5% within 30 days of hospital discharge (that’s nearly 1 in 12 seniors returning to hospital), often due to inadequate care planning during the transition. Families worry about falls, medication management, meals, and mobility. Will there be someone there to help? How quickly can support start?

For families living across the city or out of province, coordinating all these details while trying to advocate for your aging loved one can feel overwhelming. One missed step, like a safety concern at home or an unclear medication instruction, can derail everything.

Even with the best discharge plan, there’s often a gap between leaving the hospital and when regular support begins at home. This is where many families hit a wall.

AHS Home Care is an excellent resource, but there can be wait times before services start. Private agencies may have availability issues. And in the meantime, your parent is home, likely deconditioned from their hospital stay, and potentially anxious about managing on their own.

This transition period is critical. Seniors need consistent support to rebuild strength, manage medications correctly, attend follow-up appointments, and watch for warning signs of complications. Inconsistent care during this vulnerable time can allow small issues to escalate quickly, leading to exactly what everyone wants to avoid. Readmission.

The families who navigate this transition successfully have one thing in common: they have an experienced advocate who knows the system and can coordinate care immediately.

Now that you understand the roadblocks, the next step is knowing how to work around them. Or better yet, work alongside the hospital system to accelerate the process.

What makes the difference? Having a home care partner who can start immediately, who understands how Calgary hospitals coordinate discharge, and who can provide the intensive, consistent support your elderly parent needs during that critical transition home.

This means someone who can:

✓ Provide additional support for mobility and strength-building while coordinating with the hospital’s discharge plan.
✓ Communicate directly with hospital discharge planners to ensure everything is ready when your parent is cleared to leave.
✓ Arrange all the details families worry about: medication management, meal support, transportation to appointments, fall prevention, and more.
✓ Begin care the moment your parent arrives home, eliminating the gap between hospital discharge and when regular support starts.

An experienced care team doesn’t replace AHS services. They work alongside them. They fill the gaps, speed up coordination, and ensure your parent has what they need from day one.

Your senior parent shouldn’t spend a single unnecessary day in the hospital. Beyond Neighbours is a physician-led care team that helps Calgary families navigate complex hospital transitions with the speed and expertise this hospital crisis demands.

We understand the urgency. With hospitals managing overflow capacity, families need answers and action immediately. That’s why we’ve built our service around responsive, coordinated care that begins when you need it most.

What sets Beyond Neighbours apart from traditional senior home care services?

• We move very fast. We can complete a full care assessment within 24-48 hours of being notified.
• We coordinate directly with hospitals. Our Calgary-based physicians work with AHS discharge planners to streamline the transition and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
• We start when you need us. In most cases, we can have care ready to begin the same day your loved one comes home.
• We provide physician-led care. This means medical expertise guiding every aspect of your parent’s recovery.

We’ve helped countless Calgary families navigate this exact situation. We know the system, we know the pressure you’re under, and we know how to get your loved one home safely and quickly.
Don’t let system delays keep your ageing parent in the hospital longer than necessary.

Contact us today to speak with our care team and learn how we can help facilitate a smooth, safe discharge from the hospital.

Your parent deserves to recover at home, with expert support from day one. Let’s make that happen.